The Untold Story
by the-sleepy-dormouse
Summary: This story will revolve around Judai's past life as the prince. What was he like in his past life? Had he been born as the Supreme King? Did he ever fight the Light of Destruction? Why was he reincarnated? There is only one way to find out!
1. Chapter 1

((Hello everyone! Here is my new story! It's going to be a chapter fic and I will try my best throughout this story to keep everything coherent and not too confusing if I can. I hope you all enjoy it. I have been working on it, mostly outline and stuff, since June and I really hope you all enjoy it.

Summary(sort of): So this story is manly going to be about Judai's past life as a prince. How had he obtained the tittle of Haou? Why was he reincarnated? Did he ever fight the Light of Destruction in his past life? I always wondered this question myself and decided to write this little story for you all to read. Hope you enjoy!

Warning: There will be character death in this story but not in this chapter. (It won't be until much later) Also, this fic is not connected to any other fics I have written in the past.

Also, I want to add that I am going to use the English name for most (if not all) of the character in this story. I wanted a way to differentiate Judai from his past self.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX))

Chapter One

Part 1

Fairy Tale

Long, long ago, when this land and the stars were still young, there was a chaotic light that had spread across the land. The light shrouded the darkness so much, that it bought imbalances and chaos to the inhabitance of this land and as well as far beyond the starts. The creatures of the land were split into different colonies that were full of hatred and miss trust of one another. The chaos brought great pain and suffering to the creatures; many of whom had lost hope for a happy tomorrow.

One day, after centuries of unstopped chaos and disaster, a young human man appeared amongst the calamity. This young man had something that everyone else throughout the land had lost. The young man had hope. He had the will to fight for a brighter and better tomorrow. From a young age, the young man made it his goal to put a stop to this chaotic light that had overtaken the land and bring peace to all creatures. The boy knew that, thought his power of hope was strong; he could not fight this monster on his own. He knew that he needed to gather others who shared his dream and fight alongside them to defeat the light.

Filled with courage and his dream, the young man set off throughout the land searching for others with the same passion as he. After many moons of searching he was able to gather allies from each colony that also dreamed of a better world. The allies all put their heads together to find a way to stop the chaos throughout the land. Try as they might, they knew that the light was still too powerful for them to handle. Many of the allies started to lose hope and felt that fighting against the light would only end in their death and nothing more. Despite all the odds, the young man refused to give up. He told the other allies that they could turn tail and run but he was not going to turn his back on the land that he loved so much. As the boy poured his soul out to the others in the room a strange event took place. An enchanting blue light appeared amongst the group and from the light came a calming gentle voice.

"I am the Gentle Darkness," the voice announced as the inhabitants in the room stepped back in fear. "There is no need to fear me, for I am the creator of life," the voice carried on in a reassuring tone. "You, boy," the voice then said to the brave young man. "I was called here by your passion to save this land. As I said before, I am the Gentle Darkness, the creator of life," the voice repeated in a very soft tone.

The inhabitants of the room were all very confused as to what was going on. None of them seemed to understand what was being said. Many were still full of fear while others full of wonder. The brave young man then stepped up to the darkness. "Please tell us, why are you here? Why did you come?" the young man asked.

"Like I said before, I came here due to your faith and loyalty to this land and its creatures. You see, due to the spread of The Light of Destruction, the force that has thrown this land into such chaos and despair, I have been pushed out of this land, unable to protect it and stop the chaos that it has fallen into. Due to my defeat, the land, as well as the universe, is unbalanced. The balance of both light and dark has been thrown off and thus causing such chaos," the light explained, despair in its beautiful voice. "I was unable to push back the Light of Destruction on my own, and after much struggle, I stored the rest of my power away in hopes that one day, someone with as much love for life as I, would appear and I would grant this worthy creature my powers to help fight against the Light of Destruction and put the universe back in balance."

"So you are willing to lend us your power to help save the land?" the young man asked.

"Yes, but the one whom is granted my power must dedicate his life, and the life of his ancestors, to protecting the balance of darkness and light," the voice explained.

Something inside the young man told him that he had been born to protect the land and bring balance to the universe. He then stepped up to the bright light, knowing what he must do. "Please, Gentle Darkness, I am more than willing to dedicate myself to protect this land. It has been my dream to bring peace and harmony to the creatures that inhabit it. Please, lend me your powers!" The young man pleaded.

The Gentle Darkness could tell that the young man' s words were true, that he was the destined one to save this land and bring balance to the universe. "I understand," the Gentle Darkness said after a few moments of silence. "But heed my warning, the powers I will grant you are shrouded in darkness and thus will bring misbalance to the one who holds it and could overtake one with a week underdeveloped mind. This power will be passed down to those after you, so that they too can keep the universe in balance. It will be your duty to make sure that the next holder of my power is ready for it" the voice explained, wanting to make sure that this man knew what he was getting himself into.

The young man listened to what the voice had to say. "I understand, and I promise to use this power to save the land. I also promise to prepare the next holder of this power so that it will not overtake them," the young man said after a moment of silence.

"I understand," the Gentle Darkness replied as it listened to the young man's plea. "Come to me and I shall transfer my remaining power to you."

The young man then stepped forward. A bright light filled the room, startling all that was in it. As the light faded away, all that was left was the young man. The other creatures in the room could tell that the young man was now shrouded with new power. They stared in awe as a new sense of hope and courage filled their bodies. They knew that with this new power, they could push back the Light of Destruction and bring balance and peace to the land.

Along with the young man, the group gathered their forces and created a great army. Together, their hearts now united through hope, they fought as one. Using the power of Gentle Darkness, the young man was able to lock away the Light of Destruction.

With the Light of Destruction locked away, the land was full of hope and joy. All the creatures agreed to make the young man king over the land so that he could protect them from the Light of Destructions if it were ever to break free. He was given the tittle of 'Haou' and was respected by all. The king also granted tasks for the different tribes of the land, to help keep balance thought out the land. The tribes were split into 7 separate groups; forest, sea, desert, tropics, earth, weather and the sky as well as the elements. Each was given a task to help keep harmony and joy thought-out the land. The king himself was given the duty to keep the balance of light and darkness in check.

As years went on, the king grew old and died. Though he had been given the power of Gentle Darkness, he was not given immortality. The king died but his power of the Gentle Darkness and the tittle of Haou was passed down his blood line. One day, when the land needed it most, another king would be born with the power to protect the land and keep balance over darkness and light.

X X X

"Okay you two, it's time for bed," said a middle aged woman with soft brown eye. She closed the book that she had been reading to her children.

"But mom! Read us the story again! Please! I want to know what happens next," squeaked a little girl with silver hair and brown eyes that matched her mother's.

"Stupid," spat her silver haired older brother, whom looked to be only a year or two older than she. "That's the end of the story! There is no more," he said as he pouted and looked out the window at the bright stars.

"Mother! Is it true? Was there really a Light of Destruction that almost destroyed our kingdom? Will the power given to Haou really return someday to save us if we need it? What if …" the little girl asked, barely able to keep track of her own questions.

The kind mother smiled softly as she listened to her daughter. She looked down at the book she had been reading and brushed her hand over its cover. The tittle read 'Old Stories of the Land'. It was an old book that was somewhat of a family air loom and had been passed down to her from her Grandmother. The book was well over a hundred years old. The mother herself didn't really know how old the book was but knew that it had been with her family since before her Grandmother was born. She also did not know if the stories within the book were true or not. It was known that the ruler of their land had special powers but weather the power was from the Gentle Darkness or not, she did not know. She then looked from the book to her two children. "I don't really know my dear… it very well may be true… but may also be a myth" she sighed as she looked out the window to the stars.

"I think it's true…" said the silver haired boy as he gazed up dermally at the starts. "I know it is… and if a day every came where the land needed rescuing, I would surly help Haou…" he added as a small smile spread across his little face.

"How lucky of me to have such a brave son," the mother joked in a loving voice as she smiled sweetly as he beloved son. The room stood sill for a second as all three members sat in a dreamy silence. The mother then stood up as she shook herself form her dreams. "Okay you two, now it really is bed time! No complaints," she said, wagging her finger at the end. The two kids moaned rebelliously but did as their mother said. The mother set the book down on the side table that divided the children's beds. She then blew out the candle. "Goodnight you two," she sang as she made her way to the door.

"Goodnight mom," the two replied in unison.

The little girl drifted off to sleep almost right away but boy was kept awake by the images of the story twirling around in his head. From where he lay in bed, he looked out the window and up at the almost full moon. "I know it's real… I just know it," he whispered as the moon reflected itself in the boy's big blue eyes. He then felt sleep come over him and after a few minutes of fighting it, he surcame to its power and drifted off to sleep.

((So, did you enjoy the first chapter? What did you think? Please let me know in a review! I really want to know!

I have the next chapter ready to post. I will put it up in the next few days. I will try to keep the updates as regular as I can.; probably about the same pace as my last fic, but maybe a bit slower at times.

So this fic is going to be split into different parts and the parts will indicate large time skips. Part 1 will consist of maybe seven chapters. The true story line will not come into play until after part 1 but I promises part 1 is important to put the story into place. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope that you hang around for the rest

I want to thank Judaisbutt for being my beta.))


	2. Chapter 2

((So here is chapter 2. I am sorry if some of the characters seem OOC. It's quite short but I hope you enjoy this chapter w

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX))

Chapter 2

Part 1

The Castle

"Prince Jaden! You know it is forbidden for you to be out of bed this late at night and especially in this part of the castle! What will you do if you get caught!?" Yubel frantically hissed in a low voice as she flowed behind the young prince that she cared for so dearly.

"Quiet, Yubel! Are you trying to wake up the whole castle," was the sassy reply Yubel received from the young 8 year old prince. Young Prince Jaden was notorious around the kingdom as being a mischievous child who often tested his father's, as well as Yubel's, patients.

"Prince Jaden! Why won't you listen, just this once! That thing is being locked up for a reason! It's dangerous! You could get hurt!" Yubel pleaded futilely as she tried to get the prince to change his mind and go back to bed.

The young prince then turned and studied his half human half dragon guardian. His brown eyes looked over the worried Yubel as he thought about his reply. "Oh, come on! What could go wrong!?" Prince Jaden finally replied after a moment of silence. "Beside, like you said, it's locked up and if it's locked up, it can't hurt us, now can it?" the prince added as he turned and carried on down the hall.

Yubel groaned in frustration as she followed the prince. "Why do you always do this? You always, ALWAYS, have to go poking your nose into business that has nothing to do with you!" Yubel snapped, speaking a bit louder then she meant.

Judai stopped in his tracks yet again as he turned and shot an 'I'm so awesome,' look at Yubel. "Is that any way to speak to the future Haou?" Jaden asked with a sly smirk on his spoiled face. "And as the future supreme king, I command that you stop nagging me!" Jaden added in very royal tone. He then turned on his heels and carried on down the dark corridor.

Yubel knew that the prince was a kind child at heart. He often put others before himself and cared very deeply for both his family and the kingdom. He often went out of his way to care and protect those that were weaker than him. But Yubel also knew that, though the prince was only 8, he had an ego that often got him into trouble. It was true that one day Prince Jaden would be give the title of Haou, as well as great powers, but that did not give him the right to do as he pleased when he pleased. "Prince Jaden! You are not yet the Supreme King, nor are you the king in general! You are just the prince! This means that you do not make the rules around here, your father does. And both you and I know very well that your father forbid you from coming down here!" Yubel hissed in a stern voice as she followed the prince.

Prince Jaden rolled his big brown eyes as he ignored Yubel's nagging voice. The prince did care deeply for his guardian. She had always been there to care for him ever since his birth. She had devoted her life to protect him and had even gone so far as to have her body mutilated so that she would have enough power to help guide him and protect him through life. Despite knowing all this, there were times that Prince Jaden wished that Yubel would just lay off. He could not help it if he was curious about things and wanted to know more about the world by doing, even if it could get him hurt. "Well, if my father does not find out, then I don't see why I should not come down here and take a look at this creature they found!" Jaden argued stubbornly as he looked around a corner to see if the cost was clear. Being the sneaky prince he was, Jaden had learned how to sneak around the castle without being caught.

At the moment Prince Jaden was heading down to the west end of the castle where he had heard a mysterious creature was being kept. Many of the knights had gone out a few days before to an area where a colony of earth dragons had resided. They had seen smoke coming from the mountains where the colony lived and the king had sent them out to investigate. The knights had come back to report that the colony had mysteriously disappeared. The only thing they had found was the creature that was being kept in the west end of the castle. When Jaden heard of this he became excited and wanted to see the creature right away. He rarely ever left the castle and the idea of meeting a rare animal excited him. Despite his interest, the King had forbid the Prince from going to see the creature saying that it was dangerous. Despite his father's words, Prince Jaden's curiosity got the best of him and had decided to sneak out and take a look.

"I think this is the room!" Jaden hissed as he looked around the corner at a big wooden door. He was surprised to see that the guards that were meant to be watching the room, were fast asleep. 'Figures! I guess this creature is not as dangerous as my Father said if he put these two sleepy heads in charge of watching it,' Prince Jaden thought as he stepped around the snoozing guards. The two guards were young knights in training who were well known for slacking off. Jaden then made to push the big door open.

"Prince Jaden, NO! You can still go back!" Yubel hissed frantically as she tried one last attempt to get the young prince to stop.

The prince stopped pushing at the door for a second and glanced over at Yubel. He stared as her silently not saying a word. "Are you going to help me, or not? This door is heavy," he finally said after a long period of silence.

Yubel rolled her two toned eyes in defeat. "I can never win against you, can I…" she huffed as she carefully fluttered her way over to the prince. Thought she did not want to admit it, she too was interested in what this creature was. 'Maybe it's a baby dragon,' she thought as she gave the door a great push.

With both of them pushing, the door creaked open far enough for both of them to peak in. Prince Jaden felt excitement overwhelm him as he looked into the room. To his surprise, the only thing in the room seemed to be a box like cage that was just big enough to fit the prince himself. The door to the cage was facing the opposite direction of the entrance to the room, so the prince was not able to see what was inside. He then took a step into the room to get a better look.

"What are you doing?" Yubel spat in a panic, watching in horror as the prince entered the room.

The prince did not react to Yubel's voice as he made his way to the cage in the room. It was almost as if he was being pulled by some force to see what the creature was. When he got to the cage he felt a shiver travel down his spine. He knew that whatever was in the cage was going to change his life. It was something great that could not be ignored. The idea both filled him with excitement and nervousness. Taking a deep shaky breath to calm himself, he rounded the cage, making sure to keep a respectable distance between himself and the cage. He looked into the cage's entrance. The door to the cage was made of bars so it was easy for one to look in. As he faced the entrance of the cage, he squinting his eyes to get a better look. It was dark in the room but the moon's light shown through the window and landed on the creature. The creature was curled up in a small ball asleep, chains seemed to have been restraining its limbs. The prince took another step closer to get an even better look at the creature. The first thing he noticed was that the creature seemed to have teal fur on the top of its head while the rest of it seemed pale and hairless… and was it wearing a dirty oversized shirt? The prince's eyes widened in shock as he realized that the creature was not a creature at all, but a human child.

"Prince Jaden! Please get away from it, now!" Yubel demanded in a strict whisper as she floated over to the prince.

"Yubel…. It's a human," Prince Jaden replied, not taking his eyes off the sleeping child in the cage. The prince realized that the child's arms and legs were being restrained by the chains.

"What are you talking about it's not…" Yubel started to say but her words got caught in her mouth when she looked upon the creature in the cage. "It… it is a child," she said in disbelief. Her fear and panic was soon replaced with confusion. Why was such a small child locked away in a cage like this and labeled a dangerous creature?

Both Yubel and Jaden sat in silences as they looked at the boy in the cage. Without thinking, the prince took a few steps to get a closer look. Why was this boy here? Why was he locked up like this? Was he really the only thing left at the dwelling of the Earth Dragons? Had he killed them all? The prince's head swam with so many questions as he studied the teal haired boy.

Without warning the boy in the cage shot awake; slamming his back to the far wall of the cage and facing Jaden and Yubel. This startled the prince and caused him to stumble back and fall onto his bum. In one motion Yubel shot between the prince and the cage in an attempt to protect the prince in case the creature in the cage was more than it seemed. The teal haired boy was crouched down with his shoulders hunched, the cage was a bit too short for him to stand his full length. His wild bight green eyes glowed in the moon's light as he looked at the two outside of the cage. A low growl escaped his throat as his body shook like a scared animal, his eyes still shooting daggers at the other two.

All three sat in utter silence as they all tried to understand what was going on. "Prince Jaden, I think we should leave," Yubel finally said, still unsure if the teal haired boy was dangerous or not.

"But…" the young prince said as he pulled himself from the ground to a standing position and looked around Yubel at the creature in the cage. As Prince Jaden peaked around Yubel his brown eye made contact with the green eyes of the teal haired boy. As the prince studied the other boy, he noticed that the threatening green eyes were slowing going from offensive and dangerous, to vulnerable and scared. Jaden's breath caught in his throat as he noticed that tears were forming at the corner of the boy's gem green eyes and that his body was shaking uncontrollably. "Yubel… I think… I think he is just… scarred…" Jaden said as he stepped out from behind Yubel. He then took a few steps towards the cage. This action caused the teal haired boy to let loose a shaky growl.

"Prince Jaden, NO! He is dangerous! He could hurt you," Yubel squealed in a panic as she reached her hand out to pull the prince back.

"I don't think he will hurt us…" The prince replied as he successfully dodged Yubel's attempt to pull him back, still making his way to the door of the cage. The prince did not break eye contact with the boy as he inched closer to the door of the cage. When he got to the door of the cage, he kneeled down on his knees and a sweet smile graced his face. "It's okay, I won't hurt you," he said as he held his hand through the bars. This caused the teal haired boy to push himself even flatter against the far wall of the cage.

"J-J-Ja Prince Jaden! What are you thinking?" Yubel hiss as she pulled at her own hair. When Yubel had taken this job as the prince's bodyguard six months ago, she had never expected it to be this hard. Before she was able to get into all kinds of antics with the prince but now she knew she had a responsibility to protect him. She could tell that the boy in the cage could not seriously harm them but the King had made it clear to keep the prince away from this boy.

"Yubel! Stop freaking out! You are scaring him!" the prince scolded as he shot a stern look at his bodyguard. He then turned his attention back to the caged boy. The prince still had his hand in the cage in an attempt to lure the boy closer. "What's your name...? Where are you from…?" Jaden asked the boy in an attempt to figure out who this boy really was.

The boy just looked from Jaden's hand to Jaden's face, his back still pressed against the cage wall. His breathing was still shaky but his eyes seemed calmer. The three sat in the room in complete silence yet again.

"Prince Jaden, I don't think he can talk," Yubel finally said in a small whisper as she too came closer to the cage. Despite the dangers, she too could not help but want to know more about the caged boy as well.

"Wh-What do you mean he… he can't talk?" the prince asked as he pulled his hand out of the cage and looked at Yubel.

Yubel sighed and looked from the prince to the boy in the cage. The boys was still pushed firmly against the back of the cage, his sacred green eyes were fixed on the prince. "Look at him… Can't you see… He looks like a scared animal…" Yubel finally said as she felt a wave of pity overtake her being. She could not help but wonder what this boy had gone through. Why was he so scared of human's? Why was he locked away like this?

The teal haired boy's green eyes traveled from the prince to Yubel as Yubel spoke. His green eyes went from fear to shock as he took in the half-human half-dragon beast in front of him. His body stopped shaking and he dropped to his knees as his gem like eyes stared into Yubel's dual colored eyes, almost as if he were relieved. A small whimper escaped his throat as he let out a deep sigh.

Both Yubel and the prince were surprised by the boy's sudden change in posture at the sight of Yubel. It was almost as if he had seen the prince as a threat but Yubel as something comforting. Yubel could not help but feel a strange sensation overtake her being. It was like she was able to connect to the boy on a level she had never experienced. Without words, she could tell that the boy was scared, confused and was in desperate need of comforting; almost as if she could sense it, like a smell. Without thinking she stuck her clawed hand out to the small frightened child. Without words, she made eye contact with the boy and nodded her head. The boy looked from Yubel's clawed hand to her comforting stare, still unsure if he could trust her.

"What are you doing?" the prince asked, confused at the sudden change in his guardian. The sound of the prince's voice caused the caged boy to tense up a bit and shoot a fearful look to the prince.

"Shhhh! You are scaring him!" Yubel hissed at the prince.

"I am scaring?! You were the one-" the prince hissed before he was cut off by a stern look from Yubel. He went quiet as the two turned their attention back to the boy in the cage.

The boy was now looking at the two with a half scared half confused look. His eyes then gazed at Yubel's still outstretched claw. They went from confusion to desperate as he looked at the claw, small tears were gathering around his green eyes yet again. Yubel reached her hand further into the cage in an attempted to coax the boy closer. She could tell that the boy was not dangerous, but scared, and something within her wanted to comfort the child.

"What are you doing?" the Prince asked in a low whisper as he watched the scene play out in front of him.

"He is scared and I am trying to comfort him…" Yubel replied, not looking away from the teal haired boy. "Now be quiet… I think talking scares him…"

The prince shot a confused look at Yubel but kept quiet. He had never seen Yubel act this motherly towards anyone but himself. It was almost as if an outside force had taken her over.

The teal haired boy's gaze was now fixed on Yubel's claw. With only the sound of the clanking chains, the small boy scooted closer to Yubel. When he was only centimeters away from Yubel's claw, he looked up at the monster in front of him, almost as if to confirm for one last time that she meant no harm. Yubel smiled warmly at the boy and nodded her head. The boy then slowly placed his hand into Yubel's scaly one. As he took her hand, all the tension in his small body seemed to release and his eyes grew soft. Then without so much as a sound, the boy rested his head in her hand, nuzzling his like a baby animal.

Despite the situation being very sweet, the prince could not help but feel a bit annoyed and jealous. He had wanted to be the one to coax the boy over and comfort him and he had never seen Yubel treat anyone like this. Yubel was his guardian! He puffed out his cheeks as he looked from the boy to Yubel. Though he felt a bit jealous, he did not feel angry. "Wh-why do you think he is here like this?" Prince Jaden finally asked as he studied the teal haired boy who was using Yubel's hand as a pillow.

"I don't know…. Something tell me…. That maybe… He was living with the missing dragons…" Yubel replied in a very whimsical voice, almost as if the idea was not really hers to begin with.

"Do you really think so…?" Jaden asked, his eyes still fixed on the boy. He also wanted to help comfort this child. Something within the prince made him want to protect the child. "Do you think… he will also let me touch him…?" the prince asked after a few moments of silence. Without waiting for a reply, the prince too stuck his hand into the cage.

This caused the teal haired boy to lift his head from Yubel's claw. Without letting go of Yubel's claw, a low growl escaped the boy's throat as he stared at Jaden's hand.

"I won't hurt you," Jaden coaxed as he spread his hand out wider.

The teal haired boy's green eyes traveled from the prince's hand to Yubel, as if he were asking her if he could trust the prince. Without saying so much as a word Yubel took the boy's hand in one of her claws and Jaden's hand in her other claw. She then pressed the two boy's hands together. The teal haired boy's eyes filled with panic as he felt his hand press against the prince's hand. He tried to pull out of the hold but was much too weak to escape Yubel's grip. Yubel then shot a comforting look to the frightened boy as if to say 'it's okay'. The teal haired boy seemed to relax as he studied Yubel's body language. He then turned to look at the prince, his scared green eyes locked with Jaden's soft brown eyes. Remembering what Yubel had said, the prince kept quiet as he smiled sweetly at the other boy. He then laced his fingers with the teal haired boy's hand. The teal haired boy's eyes softened as he stared at the prince. Something told him that the brown eyed boy could be trusted. He too then laced his fingers with Jaden's and awkwardly returned the smile. A strange force connected the two boys as they gazed into each other's eyes.

Without warning, a sound outside caused all three of them to jump out of their trans. Yubel then let go of the two boys hands and stood up. "Prince Jaden, we better go before we get caught!" she said as she looked to the door.

"But Yubel," Jaden replied as he looked up at his guardian. His hand was still laced with the teal haired boy's hand. Jaden did not want to leave the poor boy behind. If what Yubel said was true, about the boy being a part of the missing dragons, then the boy was probably scared and terrified to be chained up and alone in this dark cage. Despite his desire to stay, the prince also knew he could not be caught. He turned his attention back to the boy in the cage. "I promise I will see you again and get you out of here," the prince whispered as he squeezed the boy's hand tightly.

The only reply Jaden got from the boy was a confused tilt of the head. Jaden then let go of the boys hand and pulled back. The boys eyes went from confusion to panic when he realized the two were going to leave him. He whimpered and desperately reached his hand out to them as if to say 'please don't leave me alone here.'

The prince felt his heart melt when he saw the small boy reaching out to him, despite the chains and bars that restrained his small limbs. The sound from outside caught everyone's attention yet again; it sounded as if the two guards may be waking up. The prince quickly turned back to the boy in the cage. "I promise we will meet again, and when we do, I will get you out of here," Jaden said before turning on his heels. He then led Yubel out a side door that was not being guarded. It took all of Jaden's will to not look back when he heard the sad howl from the boy in the cage. The prince wanted to stay but he knew all three of them would be in trouble if he was caught. He decided that he would confront his father about the situation tomorrow. He could not let that boy stay locked up like that. Why had his father told him the boy was dangerous? Prince Jaden was going to get to the bottom of this.

(( So yeah, this was chapter 2! What do you think? Who is this strange teal haired boy? Where did he come from? Why had the King labeled him as being dangerous! You will just have to read on to find out!

So, did you enjoy this chapter? Please let me know in a review!

Sorry if the characters seem a bit OOC. I always imagined that, if reincarnation was real, our past lives would be slightly different from the ones we lead now and thus our personalities would be different. I guess I got this idea from Avatar the Last Air Bender. Also, Yubel is meant to be a teenager at the moment and this take place anywhere from a few months to a year after her transformation to the Yubel we know. I always imagined that she was kind and that losing Judai was what caused her to become so over protective.

Well I hope you all stick around for the next chapter. I hope to have it up in a week or so!

I want to thank Judaisbutt for being my beta!

Everyone take care!))


	3. Chapter 3

((So here is chapter 3. I am sorry that it is so long, but I wanted this all to be in one chapter. I thought of splitting it up but decided to stick with my original plan. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX.))

Chapter 3

Part 1

The Castle: 2

Prince Jaden had a hard time getting to sleep that night. His mind was full of nothing but that poor boy in the cage. Why had that boy been in that cage? Why had he been labeled as dangerous? Why had his father, the King, told him to stay away from the boy? It was hard for the prince to fall asleep when all these questions raced around in his mind. When the prince would come close to falling asleep, the sad whimper of the boy in the cage would resonate through his mind's ear and cause his heart to sink. Thought getting to sleep that night was a tough battle, after a while, the prince drifted into a dreamless slumber.

XXX

Despite his late night, the prince woke early the next morning feeling uneasy and restless. He had not slept well and his body was still quite tired but something in the back of his mind told him to get up. It was an urgent feeling that made the prince feel like he needed to be in a hurry or he would miss something important. After a few minutes of fighting this feeling, the prince finally sat up in bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked around his large room. The majority of the room was decorated with his favorite color, red. The currents covering the glass door to his balcony was a deep red as well as the curtains that hung over the windows, the rug in the room was a lighter red and was placed next to a large fire place. Situated by the fire place were tour cushy red arm chairs. On the far end of the wall, in line with the foot of his bed, was a large wooden armoire that held most of the prince's favorite outfits. The canopy that hung over his large plush bed matched the curtains. His bed sheets were a bright red that matched the upholstery on the armchairs.

Prince Jaden rubbed the sleep from his soft brown eyes and let loose a large yawn.

"Well, aren't you up early after such a late night," came the voice of the Prince's guardian.

Prince Jaden looked to where the fire place was located and found his dear Yubel comfortably seated in one of the read armchairs. A small smile graced his face as he studied his guardian. "Morning Yubel," the small prince squeaked as he let lose another yawn.

This won the prince a winning smile from his dear guardian as she studied the sleepy boy. "I didn't expect you to be up this early. I thought you would sleep till at least noon," Yubel joked as she got up from the couch and floated over to the prince.

Prince Jaden's arm slumped down as the uneasy feeling shot thought his body yet again. "I don't know… I just have this strange feeling… Like something is about to happen," the prince mumbled as he tried to fight the feeling. "… and I feel like someone is…. Calling me…" Jaden whispered that last bit as his memories from last night all came rushing back to him. A spaced as look spread across the boy's face as it all came back.

"Prince Jaden… Are you okay?" Yubel leaned in close in an attempt to see if the prince had possibly fallen back to sleep. She was surprised to see that the young prince's eyes were wide open and seemed to be staring at nothing. "Jaden… are you okay?" Yubel asked again, giving the prince a worried nudge.

"The boy!" Prince Jaden finally shouted, causing Yubel to let loss a startled squeak.

"Prince Jaden… What are you talking about?" Yubel asked as she tried to regain her composure.

"The caged boy from last night," Jaden gasped as he turned to look straight at Yubel. "I have to go see him! Now!" the prince said in a stern voice as he jumped from his bed and made for the door. Before he was able to reach the door, he was stopped by a hand grabbing his wrist.

"Wait a minute Jaden!" Yubel shouted as she pulled the small prince away from the door. Prince Jaden turned to look as his guardian, shooting her an annoyed look. He opened his mouth to rebuttal but was cut off before he could speak. "You can't be serious, Jaden! You know you are not allowed in that room, and everyone is going to see you if you just march down there in broad daylight like this. They will stop you for sure… be sides, you have classes you need to prepare for… and… and," Yubel became flustered as she remembered the event from last night. She too could not forget the pitiful sight of the teal haired boy, all chained up and alone in that small cage. "And…" Yubel tried to carry on as she let loose a large sigh and looked to the floor.

Jaden studied the worried look on his guardian's face. He could tell that she too must be worried for the boy. The small prince slowly turned to fully face Yubel. He lifted his small hand and placed it on Yubel's cheek so that she would look at him. "Why don't we go together? I know you are worried too…" Jaden whispered in a sweet voice.

Yubel let loose a sigh of defeat as a soft smile spread across her face. "Fine… You win," Yubel mumbled as she sighed yet again. She wondered if she would ever be able to win against the prince.

The prince shot Yubel a determined smile. "Don't worry, no one will catch us! You forgot that I know my way around this castle better than anyone," the prince sang as he turned for the door.

Yubel rolled her eyes as she followed her beloved Jaden. Despite her worry for the teal haired boy in the cage, she could not help but feel that things were not going to be alright, at least not for her.

Yubel and the young prince quietly made their way through the castle and to the west hall. To both of their surprise, the security guarding the west hall had lightened up since last night. At one point, a guard had caught sight of the prince and Yubel and merely bided them a good morning as they passed. Though this made traveling to the west hall quicker and easier, it caused the unsettling feeling in Jaden to intensify tenfold. 'What had happened to the security from last night?' Jaden frantically thought to himself as his he picked up the pace.

Yubel was also worried about the lack of security. "Maybe the King decided the boy in the cage was not as much of a threat as he thought he was," Yubel said, almost as if she could read the worry that was running through the little prince's mind.

"I… It just feels like something isn't right," the prince murmured, not bothering to look back at Yubel as he spoke.

Yubel shot a worried look at her dear Jaden as she followed after him. She hoped that the prince's premonition was wrong. She too felt something was off but did not want to voice it in fear that it would upset the prince even more.

The two quickly made their way to the room with the cage. Before long, they arrived at the room to find the door slightly ajar and not a guard in sight. This alone set off alarms in both Jaden and Yubel's minds. "Oh no!" Jaden whispered as he made a dash for the door, Yubel following close behind.

With all his might, the young prince swung the heavy door open, causing it to let loose a loud creak. The prince looked frantically around the room and found that the cage was still where it had been the night before. Feeling slightly relived, the prince and Yubel dashed to the cage. Their worst fears were met when they found that the cage's door was wide open and it was completely empty. Yubel let lose a worried gasp as she got a full view of the empty gage.

"N-no! But…" Jaden stuttered frantically as he got on his hands and knees to inspect the cage. To the prince's dismay, there as not a single sign of life in the small cage. "But… how-!?" the prince started to say before being shushed by his guardian.

"Sssssh! I think someone is coming…" Yubel whispered as she bent down behind the cage in an attempt to hide herself. "Stay down! I still don't know if it's okay for us to be here," Yubel explained in a low voice as the unknown people entered the room. The prince merely nodded as he kept quiet.

"What!? I thought you said you closed the door, you dolt," came a nasally voice.

"What!? But the door was shut when we left! I swear!" came a whiny annoying cry.

Yubel peaked over the cage to see who the voices belonged to. To her surprise, the voices belonged to none other than the two sleeping young guards from the night before. One of the guards was tall and thin. He had messy green hair and light brown eyes. Though he was taller than the other guard, he seemed to slouch quite a bit, making him almost equal height to his friend. His friend was a bit shorter and had more meat on his bones. He had dark blue hair and dark brown eyes. He seemed to have a constant frown on his face and a very stubborn look in his eyes. The two wore a dashing light blue uniform fitted with armor around their chest. They had on dark brown boots and wore strange hats on their heads. After studying the guards Yubel bent back down and mouthed 'It's the guards form last night,' to the prince, whom seemed to understand her enough to keep quiet.

"Yeah!? Well the door is not shut now! What? Do you think the wind opened it or something," the shorter of the two wined as he scowled at his slouching friend.

The taller of the two dumbly scratched his head as he tried to think of a reason for the door to open on his own. "Well… maybe someone opened it after we left," he mumbled.

"What? Who would be down here this early in the morning sneaking around? It barely 6am! Most are just getting up," the shorter one scoffed.

"But, what if it's a robber?" the taller one whispered in a shaky voice.

"A-A robber! What? Don't be stupid! I think someone just forgot to shut the door after leaving," the shorter one said as he gave his comrade the stink eye.

"But I already told you! I-" before the taller one could finish his plea he was cut off by his partner.

"Well, it doesn't really matter anymore anyways. It's not like the boy is still in this room," the shorter one sighed as he waved his hand in the air.

This caught both Yubel and Jaden's attention. The two strained their ears to listen closely to the guards.

"Yeah, that boy was quite wild but I could not help but feel a little sorry for him," The taller boy sighed.

"Yeah, well, he seems a bit out of control if you ask me," The shorter one commented in a gruff voice.

"But he is so young, and they found him all alone. I wonder what became of his parents," the taller guard sighed yet again.

"Yeah, well I am sure the King will find something to do with the kid, unless he decided to put the poor boy out of his misery," the shorter guard scoffed as he said this.

At hearing this, Jaden's hands clenched into fists as he tried to keep himself from jumping out and hitting the lazy guards. Yubel put a comforting hand on the small prince's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. She too was worried about the teal haired boy but did not want to blow their cover quite yet.

"What! How could you say something to cruel, Steve," the taller boy squeaked.

"Oh calm your tits Ralph! The boy is up in the Kings meeting chamber now being judged. I highly doubt the King will send the boy to his death. He will probably just sell him away as a slave or something," Steve replied as he waved an uncaring hand in the air.

After hearing the wear about of the teal haired boy, the prince sprang from the cage and ran to the door. This surprised both Yubel, causing her to flap her wings madly, and the guards, who both jumped and fell to the floor. "Thanks for the tip," Jaden sang as he dashed past the two stunned guards and out the door.

"Jaden! Wait! Get back here!" Yubel shrieked in a panic as she raced past the two guards and out the door.

The two young guards sat in utter shock as the seen unfolded in front of them. Once the two spies were out of the room and the two guards had calmed down, Steve turned to Ralph with a large smirk on his face.

"I told you I shut the door," Steve sang to his shocked friend.

"Ah- Shut up!" Ralph spat as he gave his partner a thwack to the head.

XXX

Prince Jaden raced down the hall as he made his way to meeting chamber. The chamber was located in the East wing of the castle. Jaden took every shortcut he knew as he tried to get to the chamber as fast as his little legs could carry him. The words of the two guards raced through his mind as he ran. 'My father would not hurt that boy, would he? NO! I won't let that happen,' Jaden thought as he closed in on the meeting chamber. His sprint slowed to a jog as he came close to the chamber door. He reached his hand out to open said door but was stopped by a clawed hand.

"Jaden! Are you crazy!? You can't just barge in on your father like this! He will be livid!" Yubel spat as she pulled the prince's small hand way form the door.

"But Yubel! The boy! What if my father sell him as a slave!?" Jaden stuttered as he tried to catch his breath.

"I know, I know! But running in there will only end with all three of us getting in trouble," Yubel explained as she tried to think of an idea for saving the teal haired boy.

Just then the two caught the sound of voices form the chamber causing both of them to quiet down in an attempt to hear what was being said. "Listen Jaden, how about we listen in on them and see what the King decides before barging in," Yubel suggested after a moment of thinking. She truly wondered if the King anything cruel to the poor boy. The King had been kind and forgiving to her, so why not this boy as well.

"Fine, but if things start to get out of hand, I am going in!" Jaden said with a nod. He then cracked the door open a bit to get a look at what was going on. This action caused Yubel to have a mini panic attack, fearing someone in the room would notice them. Fortunately for them, the residents in the room were a bit too preoccupied to notice the door cracking open.

The prince peaked into the room and looked around. Sitting in a large royal chair in the center of his room was his father. To the left of his father sat the royal advisor. He was a tall thin man with long blond hair. Many people often mistook the advisor for a woman. He was one of the prince's favored people to prank. To the right of the King was an elderly lady with long braded white hair. She had kind blue eyes that seemed to hold many secrets. She wore godly gold and white robes that Jaden had only seen a few times in his life. "Isn't that the high priestess…?" Yubel mumbled as she peaked around the prince into the room. "What is she doing here? She rarely ever leaves the temple," she then added as she tried to make sense of it all.

Jaden had heard of the high priestess but had no clue who she was. At the moment, he was more concerned about the small teal hired boy that was being restrained by two guards. The boy's back was to Jaden and Jaden could see that the boy was shaking with fear. He badly wanted to run out and save the boy but thought better of it. For now he would wait and give his father the benefit of the doubt.

"So, is this the boy?" the King asked as his stern brown eyes looked down up

on the frightened teal haired boy. The boy was wearing an old large baggy dress shirt that went to his knees. The boy was covered from head to toe in mud and dirt and his hair was a wild unkempt mess. The boy's body was small and frail looking, almost as if the boy had gone a few days without food.

"Yes, your highness. This is the only thing we found when we searched the remains of the Earth Dragon tribe," one of the two guards explained as his grip on the small boy tightened, causing the small boy to let loose a pained squeak.

"Hummm, I see," the King hummed as he studied to frightened boy a bit more. "And you say there was nothing else left?" the King asked, looking from the boy to the two knights.

"No, your majesty, this boy was the only thing left," one of the Knights replied.

"Hummmm…" the King hummed, his brow furrowed as he assessed all the information he had been given.

"Your Majesty, don't you see what this means? The premonitions were true, the smoke, the annihilation of a tribe, and now this boy…" the blond man explained in a hushed whisper as his gray eyes grew with excitement.

The king looked to his advisor with a frown. "Crowler, the prediction spoke of a gem…as in a stone… not a child," the King looked from his advisor to the scared boy as he spoke.

"Ah, but your Majesty," The elderly priestess spoke with a bit of amusements in her old voice. "The prediction never said the gem was a stone, ether," she explained as her kind blue eyes laid upon the frightened boy. "The prediction said that a gem would be found in the high mountains and would help Haou connect with the other tribes so that we can fight as one, once again. How do you expect an inanimate object to bring people together?" the old lady cooed as her eyes carried on studying the small boy.

Jaden leaned in closer at the sound of his future title, Haou. He had heard of the legend, no, his future. Since he could remember, Jaden had been told that he had been gifted with the power of the Gentle Darkness and that when he was of age, he would be given the title of Haou. It had been centuries since a member of the royal family had carried the title and the power. Many had wondered if it had been lost all together. The last holder of the power had given signs as to when the next carried of the power would be born and had warned that it would be dark times. Jaden, himself, did not really understand it all and could not help but wonder what this boy had to do with any of it.

"Your Majesty, if I may," came the voice of one of the knights restraining the boy. "I don't know what you speak of, but what I do know is that this child is a wild savage. There is not one ounce of humanity left in this demon child. He think's himself a dragon and lashes out at anyone who gets too close," the knight gave a small tug on the boy's chains as he spoke, casing the poor child to stumble.

The boy looked at the knight as a small growl escaped his lips. His terrified green eyes then shot to the three people in front of him. It was evident to all that this child had no clue what was going on.

"Might I add," came the other knight as he too gave a small tug on the boy's restraint. "He is far too wild and would never be able to fit in with a fine civilization like ours. He would be a menace and a thread to everyone in this castle your majesty. It would be best of we just dispose of the boy before－" but the knight could finish, he was cut off by an upset cry.

"No! I won't let you hurt him!" Jaden screamed as he burst through the chamber door, causing everyone in the room to jump and Yubel to fall backwards. Jaden, running with all his might, body slammed the teal haired boy from the knight's hands. The two boys fell in a pile on the ground. Jaden protectively wrapped his small strong arms around the teal haired boy as he stood up. "I won't let you hurt him," he said yet again as he shot the most threatening look he could at the two knights.

"Prince Jaden," Yubel screamed as she rushed into the room and over to the prince. She helped steady the prince and the teal haired boy as they stood up.

With his body wrapped in the prince's arms, the teal haired boy thrashed around violently in utter confusion. He let out a small growl as he bit down on the arm of what was holding him. Jaden let loose a small whimper but refused to release his grip.

"Prince Jaden," Crowler gasped as he nearly fainted.

"Jaden!" the King shouted as he watched the teal haired boy bite into his son's arm. "Get this monster child away from my son!" the King barked at the two knights who were still a bit dazed.

"Yes, your Majesty," the knights said in unison as they stood up and advanced on the two boys.

"No! Don't touch me," Jaden shrieked as he jerked both himself and the teal haired boy away from the advancing knights. "He is not a monster child! He is just scared," Jaden shouted at everyone in the room. He then looked to find that the boy was still biting his arm. Fortunately for Jaden, the clothing he wore was thick and the bite felt like nothing more than a pinch. "He is just scared," Jaden whispered as his grip tighten in a comforting manner.

Yubel then floated over and rested a caring claw in the teal haired boy's head. "Your Majesty, if I may, Prince Jaden is right. This boy is merely scared. He had been taken away from his home and locked in a tiny cage... I don't blame him for lashing out the way he did," Yubel whispered as she ruffled the boy's messy hair.

"Yubel! Jaden! What is the meaning of this!?" the King roared as he stood up from his royal chair, causing his blond assistant to almost faint yet again and the teal haired boy to flinch and tighten his bite.

"Your Majesty," the elderly priestess gasped, pretending to act surprised, thought her eyes seemed very amused.

Taking a deep breath, the king calmed himself the best he could and sat back down in his chair. "Why are you two even here and how did you know of this boy!?" the King asked in as calm of a voice as he could.

"It doesn't matter! What does matter, is you sending this boy to his death!" Jaden spat as his stance became more protective.

"Jaden, where did you get such an idea! I never agreed to end this boy's life," the King explained in exasperation as he rubbed his face in his hands.

Up to this point the teal haired boy had kept his eyes shut as he bit into the arm of the one restraining him. He had finally worked up the nerve to see who his new captor was when he felt a gentle claw rake through his messy hair. He cracked his big green eyes open and was met by the two creatures that visited him the night before. A wave of relief swept through the boy's body as he looked from Jaden to Yubel. He then released his bite and shot an apologetic look at the prince.

"It's okay," the young prince whispered in a low voice as he gave the boy another comforting hug. This won him an awkward smile from the teal haired boy.

"Jaden!" the King said in a stern voice as he stood up yet again.

The action startled the teal haired boy caused him to rip himself from the prince's hold. He then latching himself onto Yubel; wrapping his skinny arms around the guardian's waist as he hid his small face in her stomach. His little body shook with fear as he let lose a small whimper

The teal haired boy's strange behavior caught everyone by surprise. Normally new people to the castle were scared of Yubel and would avoid the guardian all together. Jaden could not help but grimace as he watched the boy he was trying to save latch onto his guardian. The King stared at Yubel and the boy with wide unbelieving eyes. The knights sat in utter shock, not quite sure if they should pry the boy from the guardian or not. Crowler made another unsettling noise as he almost fainted yet again. The elderly priestess let loses an amused giggle. Yubel was the most surprised of them all. She had not expected the boy to latch onto her in such a fashion. She placed a comforting hand on the teal haired boys back as she looked nervously around the room. She didn't quite know what to do.

"Oh, well isn't that sweet," the kind old priestess cooed as her amused smile grew.

Jaden shot another disgruntled look at Yubel and the boy before regaining himself. "Y-you see! He was just scared because of the way you were treating him!" the young prince spat as he glared at the two knights. He then went over to Yubel and the boy and placed his small hand on the boys back. "He is going to stay here with me! I am not going to let you send him away!" Jaden started as he sent his father a challenging stare.

The King had never seen his son act this passionately about another person, other than Yubel. "Jaden…" the King sighed as he tried to think of the right things to say. "This child is uncivilized! Do you really think I am going to let you-"

"Then I will make him civilized! I will teach him how to talk… a-and how to read… and about the kingdom and… and… how to read." the prince was talking so frantically that he started to lose track of what he had already said.

"Jaden… You expect me to believe that you can help this boy learn when you yourself are bad at studying?" the King sighed as he studied his son. His son was always so stubborn when his mind was set.

"I promise dad! I promise I will study more and help him study, too! Just don't send him away," The prince pleaded.

"Your Majesty," came the soft voice of elderly priestess. "If I may your Majesty. I sense a strong bond between this boy and your son. It seems that fate has brought them together," as the priestess spoke a soft smile graced her rankled face.

"So are you saying I should just let Jaden keep the wild boy? Jaden is not even old enough to care for a dog, let alone some wild child," the King sighed as he shot the elderly lady a suspicious look.

"Oh your Majesty, Jaden will not be alone when caring for this boy, he will also have Yubel to help," The elderly priestess sent a kind smile to the unsuspecting Yubel.

"Wait, w-what?" Yubel stuttered at she heard her name. When had caring for this boy become her job. She thought her only job was to watch over the prince.

"Besides," the elderly priestess carried on. "This could be just the thing to help our young prince mature a little… look at them, they already seem so close," the priestess's eyes twinkled as she studied Jaden and the boy.

Prince Jaden was rubbing the back of the frightened teal haired boy, who still hid his face in Yubel's stomach, though his body was becoming less tense as time passed.

"My Lady, you can't be serious…" the King sighed as he tried to reason with the elderly woman. "Jaden is still too young to take on something like this…"

"Your majesty," the priestess started, her eyes becoming more serious. "You do remember what we spoke of this morning…" the priestess's voice had an ominous fell to it as she started at the King. The King returned her stare, knowing fully well what she meant but did not say a word.

The room went silent and there was tenseness in the air that caused the teal haired boy to tighten his grip on Yubel. Jaden looked from his father to the elderly priestess, not understating a word that was being said. Yubel, too, was utterly confused as to what the King and priestess were talking about. Crowler, who had been silent up till now, seemed to tense up as well. The King and the priestess looked into each other's eyes and seemed to be hold an unspoken conversation that no one else in the room could understand. The priestesses gaze hardened as she nodded to the King.

"I see," the King finally said as he looked away from the priestess and to his son. "Jaden!" the King said in a strong clear voice as he shot his son a very stern look.

"Yes, Father?" Jaden replied as he returned his father's gaze with determination.

"If I allow this boy to stay in the castle, he will become your responsibility… anything he does will be on your shoulders… If you are not able to get him under control soon, I will send him away," the King paused as he studied his son.

Jaden's eyes widened with joy. "Father… I promise! I won't let you down!" the prince sang as he gave a little jump of joy. He then turned to the teal haired boy, who was still cling on to Yubel's waist, thought he was now looking around the room. "Did you hear that," Jaden said as he pulled the boy from Yubel's waist and gave him an excited hug.

The teal haired boy struggled for a moment to get back to Yubel before giving up and laying semi-limp in the prince's hug. Though it was obvious that the boy was partial to Yubel, he also seemed fine with Jaden.

"And Yubel…" the King said, turning his attention to the semi-dazed guardian.

"Yes… Your Majesty…?" Yubel replied, her voice a bit timid and nervous. She had a feeling that she knew that was coming next.

"I presume that you are up to the task of helping my son with this little endeavor…" the King asked, his gaze stern and unwavering.

"Your Majesty I…" Yubel started, not quite sure how she left of this new development. Her two toned eyes looked from the King to the Prince. She was met by two pleading brown eyes that caused her heart to melt. She then looked to the teal haired boy who was still hanging semi-limp in the excited prince's arms; the boy did not seem to understand what was going on. A small amused smile spread across her purple lips as she let loss a heavy sigh. "I…. yes Your Majesty. Of course I am up for the task," Yubel finally said as she bowed to the King.

"Yubel!" the prince sang his soft brown eyes full of excitant as he pulled his guardian into the hug. "Thank you, Yubel," the young prince whispered as he tightened his hug.

Yubel smiled as she lightly placed a claw on the prince's back. She could never win when it came to the prince. The teal haired boy shifted slightly in the hug but did not attempt to escape. He merely looked around the room with semi-nervous eyes.

The King studies the three, his eyes full of worry. "Well then," he said as he let loss a big sigh. "Jaden, since he is your reasonability, I expect him to be cleaned before lunch… so you better get a move on," the King sighed as he began to second guess himself.

"Y-yes father!" the prince sang as he released the two from his bear hug, taking both Yubel and the teal haired boy's hand in his own. "Come on Yubel! We don't have any time to lose!" he squeaked as he pulled the two out of the room. The teal haired boy seemed a bit unsure at first but followed the prince after realizing Yubel was coming along as well.

"P-Prince Jaden! Hold on a minute," Yubel stuttered as the prince drug her out of the chamber and down the hall.

The King let loose another heavy sigh

as he watched the three disappear out of the room and out of sight. He then looked to the elderly priestess. "Are you sure about this…?" the King asked, his eyes full of worry.

"Your Majesty… It is both their destinies. It is in the stars… Even if we did separate them… They would still find their way back to one another," the priestess sighed. "This is the best for both the boy and the prince."

The King sighed once again before dismissing everyone from the chamber.

XXX

"So we have four hours before lunch. That should be more than enough time to clean and ...um… this boy," Prince Jaden said as he dragged the teal haired boy and Yubel into his sleeping chambers. He dragged them to the fire place so that they could sit down and relax before giving the boy a bath. "This is going to be so much fun, Yubel!" the prince squeaked as his excited brown eyes studied the nervous teal haired boy.

The curtains to the room were partially drawn open, allowing the mid-morning light into the room. At the moment the teal haired boy was nervously looking around the prince's room. Thought the boy was nervous, he had put up little to no fight when the prince had dragged him around the castle to the room they were in now. He seemed content with the company of the prince and Yubel.

"Jaden, you do realize this boy is not a pet… don't you?" Yubel sighed as she inwardly sweat dropped. She then looked to the teal haired boy, who seemed to be spacing out at the moment. She still could not believe that she had been dragged into helping the prince take care of this wild child. What was the King thinking? She made a mental note to ask the King later.

"So, what do you think we should name him?" Jaden asked as he scooted a bit closer the teal haired boy; causing the boy to break from his day dream and shoot the prince a suspicious look.

"What?" Yubel squawked, a little surprised by the question.

"Well, he's gotta have a name! We can't just go around calling him 'wild boy'," Jaden said as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, right… I guess he doesn't have a name," Yubel replied as she looked to the teal haired boy yet again. The boy had gone back to spacing out. He did not seem too bothered by the rising of Yubel and Jaden's voices as they spoke.

"So, what should we call him… It has to be good… Something easy on the ears… that matches him," Jaden hummed, rubbing his small chin with his forefinger and thumb as he thought.

"Well… how about… Hubert…" Yubel suggested, not really taking much thought on funding a good name.

"Yubel! This is serious," Jaden snapped, causing the teal haired boy to shoot them a startled look.

"Okay, okay… " Yubel said, putting her hand up in defense.

Yubel and Jaden sat for a while shooting different names back and forth; each rejecting each other's ideas. As the two argued over a name for the new boy, the teal haired boy preoccupied himself by pulling at the fibers on the rug they were sitting on.

"Well I think Shadows is a cool name," Jaden wined as he scowled at his guardian.

"Jaden, we are not naming him Shadows. This boy is a human, not some animal! You need to think about his feelings when giving him a name," Yubel explained as she returned Jaden's scowl.

"Humph! I think Shadows is an awesome name," Jaden mumbled under his breath as he folded his arms over his chest and pouted, causing the teal haired boy to shoot him a confused glance. Jaden then looked to the boy, their eyes locking. "I wish we could ask him…" Jaden sighed as he studied the confused look in the teal haired boy's eyes.

"Yeah…" Yubel sighed as she stared into space. The three sat in silence, not one saying a word. Yubel fuddled with the rug as she thought of a better name. "Oh! I got it!" Yubel shouted, breaking the silence and causing the two boys to shoot her startled looks.

"What? You got what?" the Prince asked, his eyes still wide from the sudden break of silence.

"The prefect name for him, of course," Yubel said as she rolled her two toned eyes.

"Well, let's hear it," the prince replied as he perked up

.

Yubel sat in silence for a second as she tried to build up a dramatic atmosphere. "Jesse…" she finally said, her eyes sparkling. The name 'Jesse' had been the name of a knight she had fancied before Jaden was born.

"Jesse…" Jaden repeated, enjoying the way the name seemed to roll off his tongue. "Yeah, Jesse… It does sound nice," the Prince sang as a small smile crept across his face.

"I know! Jesse… It fits him perfect!" Yubel said as she studied the teal haired boy. The boy was looked from Yubel to Jaden, trying to figure out what was getting them so excited.

Jaden then fully turned to the boy and took both the boy's hands in his own. "Jesse! Your name is Jesse," Jaden said slowly as he looked Jesse in the eye.

Jesse tilted his head and shot the prince another confused look.

"I'm Jaden," Jaden said as he released on of Jesse's hands and pointed to himself. "You are Jesse," he then said as he pointed to Jesse. "Jaden… Jesse," as the prince spoke, he pointed from himself to Jesse.

Jesse tilted his head to the other side as his expression became even more confused. "I guess he doesn't understand quite yet…" Yubel hummed as she studied the confused Jesse.

"Well, that's okay. We can work on it later," Jaden replied as he released Jesse's hands and turned to Yubel. "Now that he has a name, let's give him a bath… he is kind of dirty," Jaden said as he looked over the wild Jesse.

"Yeah…" Yubel said as she too studied the dirty boy. "I wonder if he is going to like taking a bath," Yubel wondered nervously.

XXX

"Oh come on, Jesse! It's just water," Prince Jaden yelled as he chased a terrified Jesse around the bathing chambers. Jaden had taken Jesse to the royal bathing room. The room was decorated with beautiful white tile marble. There was a large hot bath, almost the size of a swimming pool, in the center of the room that was filled with pleasantly hot water. Surrounding the large bath were many fountain's that one could use to rinse off. At the moment, a partially wet and naked Jesse was squatting on the top of one of the fountains shaking like a leaf as he looked down at an upset Prince Jaden. "Come on Jesse! My dad is going to have you sent away if we don't get you clean by lunch," Jaden wined as he futilely jumped up and down at the base of the fountain.

Yubel rolled her large two toned eyes as she watched the spectacle take place in front of her. She could not help but find the situation very amusing. "Jaden, shouting at Jesse is not going to get him into the water…" Yubel pointed out as she floated over to the two boys. The fountain Jesse was on was about a foot taller then she, so she had to look up as she studied Jesse.

"Well, what else is there to do?" Judai said with a pout. "If he does not get cleaned off, my dad is going to have him sent away," Jaden added, his big brown eyes tearing up. Though he had only met Jesse less than 24 hours ago, he could not bear the idea of losing the boy.

"I know, I know. Just calm down Jaden," Yubel cooed as she laid a comforting hand on the prince's shoulder. "Jesse is just scared and this is all new to him. He lived with earth dragons and probably did not encounter large bodies of water like this bath. We need to show him that it is safe and that there is nothing to worry about," Yubel pointed out as she sent a comforting look up to the terrified Jesse.

"Oh… I guess I never thought of that," Jaden mumbled as he felt ashamed for shouting at the scared boy. "But… how do we show him it's okay?" Jaden asked as he studied his beloved guardian.

Yubel thought for a moment as she tried to think of the best way to get Jesse off the fountain and into the bath. "I have an idea," she finally said after a moment of heavy thinking. "Maybe we should show him that the bath is safe by taking one ourselves," Yubel said with a satisfied nod.

"What? But I took a bath last night!" Jaden whined. The Prince was not the biggest fan of baths. He loved swimming, playing in the mud, and splashing in puddles but baths were boring and tedious.

"Jaden, it may be the only way to coax Jesse into the tub," Yubel said in a stern voice. "You don't want your father to send him away, now do you?"

Jaden pouted as he listened to his guardian. "Yeah, yeah. I guess you're right," the prince finally said in defeat. "You're always right," he then added under his breath. With a heavy sigh, the prince stripped his many layers of royal clothing off as he prepared to take a bath.

"Oh, cheer up Jaden, it's not like you're taking a real bath. We are just going to get into the water and show Jesse that there is nothing to fear," Yubel explained as she too readied herself to bath.

"Yeah, yeah," Jaden huffed as he stripped off his last particle of clothing. The two then entered the large bath together, Jaden making an unpleasant face the whole time.

"Oh, Jaden! Wipe that look off your face! We want Jesse to think we are having a good time," Yubel snapped as she splashed a bit of water at the prince.

Jaden stuck his tongue out at Yubel before putting on a fake smile. The two sat in the bath silently, both not quite sure what to do next. "So… What should we do now," Jaden finally asked after a minute of nothing being said. He looked up to where Jesse was to find the boy much calmer now that Jaden was not trying to force him into the bath.

"I don't know… make it look like you're having fun," Yubel replied with a shrug. "But don't be too noisy. It might alarm Jesse," Yubel said as Jesse slowly started to climb down from the fountain like a monkey.

"Fun… Fun," Jaden hummed as he tried to think of something entertaining to do that would coax Jesse over. "Oh! I know," the prince finally said as he shot an evil look at Yubel. "Nothing is funner then a water fight, right," he shouted as he sent a large wave towards Yubel.

This action caught both Jesse and Yubel by surprise. Yubel let loose a startled screech while Jesse slipped and fell on him naked bum.

"Hahaha! You b-b-both looked so r-r-ridiculous. You s-s-should have seen your fac-es," the prince stuttered as he laughed uncontrollably.

"Oh, you think you're so smart," Yubel snapped as she regained her composure and sent a playfully evil smirk to the prince. Without saying a word, she too sent a large wave of water at the laughing prince.

The wave caught the prince a bit of guard but only encourage the boy to laugh more. "Oh this is war!" Jaden shouted as plashed Yubel back.

The Prince and guardian carried on splashing one another, forgetting why they had even entered the bath. Jesse sat on his bum and watched. At first Jesse was a bit unsure and confused as to what was going on. He had never seen any creature enjoy water like this before. He had only ever used water for drinking but these two were in the water splashing it around. Slowly, Jesse's confusion turned to curiosity as he got onto his hands and knees and crawled closer to the tub. The two in the tub seemed to have forgotten Jesse presence as they carried on play fighting. Once Jesse reached the edge of the large tub, he bent down and looked into the wavy water. The waster did not seem like any other water he had seen before. It smelt funny; like flowers. Jesse then bent over to get a better look at the water.

"Take this Yubel!" Jaden shouted as he sent a large wave at his beloved guardian.

"Nice try Jaden," Yubel sang as she dogged the wave, allowing the large wave of water to rush behind her and his Jesse smack dab in the face.

Jesse let loose a surprised squeak as he lost his footing and fell face first into the large bath tub.

Yubel and Jaden both gasped as they watched the boy fall into the water and not come back up. "Jesse!" Jaden shouted as he and Yubel waded over to where Jesse had fallen into the water. Working together they reached into the water and bulled the dazed teal haired boy up.

Jesse hung limp in their arms as he caught his breath, a dazed look in his bright green eyes.

"Hey Jesse… are you okay?" Jaden asked as he gave the boy a small shake.

Jesse looked up as he regained his composure. He eyes went from dazed to panic when he realized where he was. He began to thrash around like an angry cat in a futile attempt to get out of the tub.

"J-Jesse! Calm down! You can stand," Jaden shouted as he tried to show the boy that the water was not so deep.

"Jaden, lift him up more," Yubel shouted, in an attempt to show Jesse that he could stand. After much struggling, the two finally got Jesse to stand properly in the tub. "Jez, this kid sure can wiggle," Yubel sighed as she relaxed a bit.

"Tell me about it," Jaden replied as he loosened his grip on Jesse, not wanting to fully let go in fear that Jesse would freak out again.

Jesse was now standing in the large tub. The water reached just above his belly button. He had a very bewildered look in his large green eyes are he realized he could stand in this water. He half wondered if he was dead.

"Well, now that he is in here, we should try to scrub this dirt off him," Yubel said as she released Jesse and got out of the bath to retrieve some soap and a loofah.

The sudden absence of Yubel caused Jesse to enter into another mini panic. Losing his footing, he closed his eyes and let loose a small cry as he began to all back into the water.

"Woah there! It's okay! You don't need to be scared. You still have me," Jaden cooed as he used both hands to steady Jesse and stop him from falling into the water.

Jesse opened his big green eyes as he felt two small but firm hands catch his fall. He looked up and was met by a pair of large comforting brown eyes. The look in the Prince's eyes caused Jesse panic to lessen. Regaining his footing, Jesse latched both his hands onto the prince's arm as he stood back up. Not letting go of the prince, Jesse leaned some of his wait into the prince as an attempt to not get sucked up by the scary water.

"Wow! You really don't like the water, do you…?" Jaden commented as he tightened his grip on Jesse. "But you don't have to worry, I won't let the water hurt you. The water can really be fun once you get used to it," he said was a bring smile spread across his face. He could not tell if Jesse understood him, but the teal haired boy seemed to relax a bit.

"Well then, shall we get scrubbing?" Yubel asked as she returned with some soap and a loofah.

"Yeah, the sooner we get him out of here, the happier he will be," Jaden replied as he studied the nervous boy. Though Jesse was calmer, his little limbs were still shaking.

"Okay, you hold him still while I scrub him down," Yubel said as she got the loofah nice a sudsy. Jaden nodded in replied as he readied himself for Jesse to freak out again.

To Yubel and Jaden's surprise, Jesse did not seem to mind being scrubbed down. As Yubel washed away the dirt, the teal haired boy seemed to relax a bit. His shaking died down as well. At one point Jesse even tried to eat some of the soap, only to make a sour face, causing both Jaden and Yubel to laugh. The only part Jesse was fussy over was when they had to wash his teal hair. He struggled a bit but did not put up too much of a fight. After Jaden and Yubel finished scrubbing Jesse down, they all got out of the bath and rinsed off under a fountain. Jesse seemed to not mind the fountain as much as he did the bath.

"Wow, Jesse's skin is so white," Jaden commented as he started to towel Jesse down. He wondered how he, who spent most of his time in the castle, could be tanner that someone who spent all their time outside.

"Yeah, and his hair is much brighter now," Yubel commented as she used another towel to dry Jesse's hair. "His family must have come from up north," Yubel pointed out as she wrapped her towel around Jesse small shoulders.

"Do you think so?" Jaden asked as he stepped back and took a good look at the now clean Jesse.

Jesse's skin had gone from being a grayish brown, from all the dirt, to a milky white color. His hair had also been a dull teal color but now that it was clean, it had become much brighter, reminding the prince of the sea. With his small head cocked to the side, Jesse's big green eyes studied the prince and Yubel as they talked about him.

"Well, people up north are known for having fairer skin than most," Yubel said as she let lose a tired sigh.

"I… I wonder what happened to his family," Jaden asked, his voice almost a whisper. Yubel and Jaden sat in complete silence as the question hung thick in the air.

"Well," Yubel said, breaking the silence. "He is here with us now… and that is all that matters," she said with a sad smile. She knew very well what had possibly become of the boy's true family. Though she had no clue how it happened, she figured that they were probably dead. The place where the boy was found was known for being rugged and dangerous. Most people did not sever set so much as a toe into those mountains.

Just then a loud growling sounds cut through the thick silence, causing everyone in the room to jump. Jaden put a small hand to his stomach as his belly let loose another growl. "Something tells me it almost lunch time," Jaden said with a goofy smile.

Yubel could not help but smile at her dear Jaden. "Okay, how about we get dressed and then get something to eat," she said as a soft smile graced her face. It had just occurred to her that both she and Jaden had skipped breakfast.

XXX

It had taken Jaden and Yubel a good 20 minutes to dress Jesse. Jesse did not seem too keen on the idea of wearing cloths and put up a bit of a fuss when they tried to get a nice looking fitted shirt on him. After much struggle, Jaden and Yubel finally decided to dress Jesse in loose fitting clothing. Though Jesse seemed uncomfortable in the baggy white dress shirt and baddy pants they had chosen for him, he had finally given up on stripping the cloths off. Though the clothes Jesse wore made him look like a sack of potatoes, Jaden and Yubel decided that it was better than nothing. They would slowly get Jesse used to more form fitting clothing later. They also failed at getting Jesse to wear shoes. Yubel struggled with the teal haired boy for a good 10 minutes before giving up and deciding they would worry about the footwear later. In the end, they were only able to get Jesse in a shirt and pants. Though the clothes are not too flattering on the boy, it was better than nothing.

After the clothing fiasco, Jaden and Yubel lead Jesse to the dining hall. By this point, both Jaden and Yubel were feeling the effects of skipping breakfast and were both very keen on the idea of eating. Whether Jesse was hungry or not, neither knew. They forgot to ask the King if the boy had eaten anything since coming to the castle.

"I just hope Jesse does not act up too much while eating," Yubel said as the three approached the dining hall.

"Do you think he is going to throw food around or something?" Jaden asked, a small amused smile on his face. He had secretly always wanted to have a food fight.

"Well, maybe he won't throw food but…" Yubel shot a worried look at Jesse, who was preoccupied at looking with all the new things to notice that Jaden and Yubel were talking about him.

"Oh, what is there to worry about? I am sure Jesse will do just fine," Jaden said, with little to no worry in his tone.

"If you say so…" Yubel said as she let lose a big sigh knowing that there was much to worry about. She had a feeling Jesse had never seen a spoon nor a fork in his life. She wondered if Jesse had every encountered cooked food.

The three soon arrived at the dining hall. The door to the hall was open and many good smells were coming from the large room. Jesse's big green eyes seemed to light up at the scent. Jaden's stomach let loose another loud growl as they entered the room. The room was huge with three large, long, wooden tables. The tables were decorated with beautiful white table cloths. Running down the table, spread a few feet apart, were several bucket of flowers. Over the tables were magnificent chandeliers. Surrounding the tables were beautiful wooden chairs. Each table was large enough to sit at least 20 people around it.

At the far end of the center table, in the largest chair of all, sat the King. To the right of him was his advisor, Crowler. To the left of the king was a large chair that resembled the one that the king was sitting on. It had once belonged to the queen, who had died soon after giving birth to the prince. The King and Crolwer seemed to be in a deep and serious conversation. Yubel noticed that the elderly priestess was missing; she had probably gone back to the temple. Yubel could not help but wonder why the head priestess had come to the castle in the first. The old lady rarely ever left the temple.

As the three entered the room, the King and his assistant abruptly stopped their conversation and looked to see who had entered. The King almost didn't recognize Jesse as the three made their way to where the King and Crowler sat. Once realizing that the pale teal haired boy was the same wild child from earlier, the King's eyes widened in surprise. 'His skin is so white… His family must have come from the far north…' the King thought as he studied Jesse. "I see you were able to get him cleaned up," the King commented as Jaden and the others arrived at the table.

"See! I told you I could take care of him," Jaden said in a sassy tone as he too the seat next to the queen's empty chair.

Yubel decided it would be best to have Jesse sit between her and Jaden in case he started to act up. She easily coaxed Jesse to sit in the charge next to Jaden. Jesse did not seem to mind the sitting situation, though he did throw nervous glances at the King and Crowler every now and then. After Jesse was settled, Yubel took her seat next to Jesse.

"So, was he any trouble?" the King asked, looking to Yubel.

"Oh, none at all," Yubel lied as she plastered a large fake smile on her purple face.

"Do you think it will be able to eat… like a human," Crowler asked as his judging eyes studied Jesse.

"He is not an 'it'!" Jaden snapped, not liking the way Jesse was being talked about. "And he has a name now! Call him Jesse! Not 'it'!" the Prince said as his challenging brown eyes studied his father and Crowler.

"Oh, well excuse me," Crolwer mumbled under his breath.

"Well, so far you have done a good job at caring for Jesse. I am very proud of you," the King commented, ignoring the comment his advisor had just made. The King was still full of worry. He thought it crazy to let his son care for this wild child but the high priestess insisted that this was a large part of Jaden's destiny. It was the high priestesses' job to study the stars and read the future of the world. The high priestess had the power to communicate with the spirits of the past as well. She had been the one to predict the birth of the next Haou as well as the death of the queen. She had told the King many years ago, when Jaden was still just a baby, that a gem would be found in the high mountains that could help the future Haou in his endeavors. She had insisted that this boy, Jesse, was the gem she had seen in the stars so many years ago. Though the King wondered if the high priestess had gone senile in her old age, he could not deny her predictions.

"Jesse is quite sweet once you give him a change," Jaden said as he patted Jesse's soft teal hair. Jesse looked to Jaden with an awkward smile as he enjoyed the feel of Jaden's touch.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure he is," Crowler sneered as his sly eyes studied the prince and Jesse.

Jaden shot Crowler a venomous glare and was about to spit a sassy comeback but was interrupted by the arrival of lunch. Jaden jumped in surprise as a large bowl of bread was placed in the center of the table by a young maid. As the smell of the warm bread entered his nostrils, Jaden's grudge with Crowler was forgotten. Jaden noticed Jesse's big green eyes double in size as he studied the bread. "You hungry, too?" Jaden asked as he gave Jesse a small nudge.

Jesse looked to Jaden with a bewildered look, almost as if the smell of the bread was too overwhelming for the wild child.

The maids then set a bowls of hot pumpkin soup in front of each person at the table. Yubel and Jaden could not help but smile as Jesse leaned in close and gave the soup a good sniff. Jesse's eyes widened yet again as the delicious smell of the soup entered his nose. Jesse then looked form Yubel to Jaden with another bewildered look. It was almost as if he could not comprehend that this was food.

By this point, the King and Crowler had already begun to eat. Jaden let loose a small giggle a he picked up his spoon. "It's food. You eat it," Jaden said as he dipped his spoon into his orange soup and placed it into his mouth.

Jesses eyes widened yet again as he watched the prince eat the soup. He then looked from the prince to Yubel as if to conform that the prince was not crazy. Yubel sent Jesse a comforting smile as she too picked up her spoon and began to eat her soup. Jesse sat silently as he looked around the table at everyone eating, almost as if he was too confused to do anything.

"Like this!" Jaden said after realizing Jesse had yet to touch his food. He picked up Jesse's spoon and placed it awkwardly into Jesse's small hand. He then made Jesse's hand ball into a fist around the spoon. Jesse looked from the spoon to Jaden, still unsure of what to do. "And now you scoop up some soup," Jaden carried on as he dipped the spoon into the bright orange soup. "And put it in your mouth," Jaden finished as he lifted the spoon to Jesse's mouth. Jesse looked down at the soup filled spoon. "You open your mouth like this… Ahhh," Jaden said as he opened his own mouth wide.

Jesse stated at Jaden for a second before copying the prince's action, even making the small 'aaah' sound as he opened his mouth. Jaden then guided the spoon into Jesse's mouth. Jaden closed his own mouth once the spoon was in position. Jesse copied the prince as he too closed he mouth around the spoon. Jesse's large green eyes became as round as a full moon as the soup spread throughout his mouth. Never in all his years had Jesse ever tasted anything so wonderful. Pulling the spoon from his mouth, Jesse hastily dipped the spoon back into the bowl of soup before hastily shoving it back into his small mouth. His movements were very rash and abrupt, causing bits of soup to splash everywhere, including all over his face.

The King and Crowler stopped eating and gazed upon Jesse in shock. Yubel slapped a hand to her face and let loose and exasperated moan. Jaden stared at Jesse in amusement as a jubilous smile spread across his face. "I think Jesse likes it," Jaden said as he looked around at the others at the table.

"Yes, quite…" Crowler hissed as he looked from Jesse to the King.

The King was still staring at Jesse in amazement. Never in all his years has he ever seen anyone eat with such gusto. "Well, now we know what he needs to work on," the King mumbled as he secretly cursed the head priestess for talking him into taking in this wild kid. "I presume you will have his eating habits under control in no time," the King then said as he looked from Jaden to Yubel.

"Uh… Yes, you're Majesty," Yubel replied, her voice full of nerves.

"They will be under control before you know it," Jaden replied with a confident grin. Jaden then shot one more pleased smile at Jesse before starting on his own soup.

The King let lose an exasperated sigh as he once again cursed the high priestess. 'Why could the gem not have been a rock? Why did it have to be a child?' the King's mind screamed as he went back to eating his soup, trying his best to ignore the atrocious way Jesse ate.

XXX

Other than Jesse's extravagant eating style, lunch went by without a hitch. Once everyone was done eating, the King made it a point to train Jesse how to eat like a 'civilized human'. Prince Jaden did not understand why Jesse's eating habits mattered but he knew he had to keep his father happy if he wanted to keep Jesse around.

The King had also agreed to allow Jaden the day off of studies so that Jaden could focus on settling Jesse in. As the day went on, Jesse went from nervous and unsure to curious and excited. Jesse seemed to enjoy Jaden and Yubel's company and never wandered far from them. Yubel could tell that Jesse still did not trust the knights in the castle. She presumed that he was still scared that they would lock him up again. Yubel and Jaden spent the majority of the day taking Jesse around the castle. They took him to the ball room, the fencing room, some of the studying rooms, and took him around the castle's guardian, witch Jesse seemed to like the best. The day seemed to fly by quickly and before they knew it, the day was already over.

Jaden, Jesse and Yubel made their way from the dining hall to Jaden's room to ready themselves for bed. All three were full of wonderful beef stew and were very drowsy as they walked. "Well, his eating habits are still the same," Yubel commented as she opened the door to Jaden's room to let the two boys in.

"Yeah, but it's still just day one. I am sure Jesse will be able to master the spoon soon," Jaden said with a chuckle as he and Jesse walked into his bedroom.

Jesse stretched and yawned as he looked around the prince's room.

"Well, you two had a big day, you should probably get ready for bed," Yubel said as she studied the two sleepy boys.

"But, I'm not ready for bed. I still wanna play with Jesse," Jaden whined as he let loose a large yawn.

"Jaden, you have the rest of forever to play with Jesse," Yubel said as she cocked an eyebrow. "Besides, Jesse looks like he has had enough excitement for the day," Yubel pointed out as Jesse let loose another loud yawn.

"Fine, you win," Jaden sleepily said as he made his way to is armoire to collect his sleep wear. Though it was custom for royalty to receive help when doing most things, Jaden was a very independent boy and the servants at the house knew to let the boy do things on his own unless instructed otherwise, besides, Jaden had Yubel if he ever needed help with anything.

After dressing himself for bed, Jaden made his way to his large bed, plopping face first on it. "Um, Jaden, aren't you forgetting something," Yubel said as she tapped her toe.

"What?" Jaden said sleepily as he looked form where he lay.

"Um, Jesse! Where is he going to sleep?" Yubel asked as she looked at Jesse. At this point, Jesse had curled up on the floor by Yubel's heels. "He can't sleep on the floor. It's still too cold. He will get sick," Yubel said as she bent down to try and coax Jesse to get up.

"Oh, well he can…" Jaden looked around his room as he thought. "He can just sleep with me," Jaden said after finding no better solution.

"Sleep with you? In the royal bed?" Yubel asked, her voice a bit higher then she meant it to be.

"Well, yeah, why not," Jaden said as he tilted his head to the side.

"But Jaden, I highly doubt you farther will agree. And we still don't know if Jesse is dangerous or not. What if he attacks you in your sleep?" Yubel asked, though she had a feeling Jesse would never attack Jaden.

"Well, then why don't you sleep with us? Since Jesse is such a scary monster, you can stop him if he tries to attack me in my sleep," Jaden said the last part in a taunting voice.

"Oh you!" Yubel huffed as her cheeks puffed out. Sometime Jaden was too sassy for his own good. Could he not tell that Yubel was only worried for him? "Fine, for now we can all sleep together, but soon we will have to find a proper place for Jesse to sleep," Yubel said as she picked the sleepy Jesse up in her arms.

Jaden scooted over in bed so that there was more room for Jesse and Yubel. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun! A sleep over," Jaden squeaked as Yubel laid Jesse in the bed. To Yubel's surprise and Jaden's disappointment, Jesse had already fallen fast asleep.

"I bet he hasn't gotten a goodnight sleep in days. Who knows how long he had been alone before the Knights found him… and then they locked him up like that…" Yubel whispered as she pulled the blankets over Jaden and Jesse. She then sat next to Jesse on the bed.

"I… I wonder what happened… Where did he come from…?" Jaden asked in a small voice as he studied the sleeping boy next to him.

"Who knows, Jaden. For all we know, he could have just fallen from heaven," She joked as she patted Jesse's soft hair. Jesse shifted in his sleep, cuddling up against Yubel's arm.

Jaden frowned as he felt the small boy roll away from him and over to Yubel. He couldn't help but be annoyed at how Jesse kept choosing Yubel over him.

"Don't worry. Soon enough Jesse will abandon me and latch onto you," Yubel said, almost as if she could read the small prince's mind. "You are just going to have to work with him and eventually he will trust you the most." Yubel knew for experience that Prince Jaden had a way of reaching out to people's hearts.

"Yeah…I guess you're right…" Jaden sighed as he scooted closer to Jesse.

"When have I never been wrong?" Yubel whispered, sending Jaden a playful smile.

Jaden returned Yubel smile as he cuddled deeper into his covers. Though he wanted Jesse to trust him more, he was happy to see Yubel and Jesse get along so well. Sometimes Yubel had a hard time trusting others. Jaden glanced at the back of Jesse's soft teal haired head as his mind wandered. The room was now silent, only the sound of a few night insects could be heard from the window. "Hey, Yubel," Jaden whispered in a small voice.

Yubel looked to the prince in surprise. She thought the prince had fallen asleep. "Yes, Jaden?" she replied softly.

Jaden hesitated for a second before working up the nerve to ask his question. "This morning… My father and the old lady talked about Jesse being a gem… and helping Haou… what were they talking about…?" as Jaden spoke his dazed eyes studies the back of Jesse's soft teal hair.

Yubel sat in silence as the prince's question sunk in. She, too, had wondered the same thing. The high priestess only ever came to the castile for special events and during troubling times, but today, aside from the arrival of Jesse, was just a normal day. There was no special celebration nor was there anything troubling the kingdom, or at least as far as Yubel knew. The only thing out of the ordinary was Jesse. Could Jesse have been the reason the high priestess came to visit and what did Jesse have to do with Haou? Yubel hadn't the slightest clue. "I… I'm sorry Jaden," Yubel whispered, her voice breaking the silence. "I have no clue," she said as she looked at the sleeping Jesse.

The two sat in silence as the unanswered questions hung heavy in the air. Jaden badly wanted to know but knew badgering Yubel would get him nowhere. He suspected that Yubel was telling the truth about not knowing. He ran his small hand through Jesse's teal hair once more before letting lose a big yawn.

"Well, there is no use in worrying about it, Jaden," Yubel said as she too yawned. "Let's get some sleep. Who knows what tomorrow will bring," she said as she adjusted herself so that she was now fully lying down in the bed. She suspected that tomorrow would be another busy day chasing after Jesse. Jesse shifted in his sleep next to Yubel, wrapping his small arms around Yubel's scaled arm. He nuzzled her arm as a small purr escaped his throat. Yubel sighed yet again as she pondered the headache that would come from chasing this wild boy around. Despite the hardships that were ahead of her, a small smile graced her face. If Jesse was necessary to helping Jaden in the future, then she would just have to deal with it for now.

((So, here was chapter 3! What did you think? Was it too confusing? I hope it all flowed well and did not leave you too confused. I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Jesse's personality will shine through in later chapters. In this one I based him after a wild animal/pet rat. I also found that I enjoy making Prince Jaden sass Yubel; it's all in love. Well I hope you enjoyed his chapter.

The next chapter should be up in a week or so. I do not plan for it to be as long as this one. It will probably be a little over half the size of this chapter. It will also introduce another main character to this story. I wonder who it will be? Anyone want to take a guess?

I want to thank you all for the wonderful reviews as well. I am so happy to see that you all seem to be enjoying this fic so far! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!

I want to thank Judaisbutt for being my beta! You really help me out!

See you all next chapter. Take care!)) 


	4. Chapter 4

((So here is chapter 4. Who will we meet next!? You will just have to read to see! I hope you enjoy it! This chapter may also be sad at times but things get better. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX or any of its characters.))

Chapter 4

Part 1

The Temple

'Cold….Cold… it's so cold….'

"Hello? Are you okay?" came a far off soft voice.

'I'm cold…I'm…'

"Come over here, quickly! I found something," the muffled voice shouted, sounding a bit closer.

'Who?'

'Who's there?'

'Why is it so cold?'

"My Lady, we heard your call. What have you found?" A gruff voice asked.

"Here in the snow," the soft voice whispered. "I think he might still be alive."

'Who?'

'Who's in the snow? Is it….'

Tired brown eyes cracked open, to see a wintry wonderland.

'S-snow?'

"Look! His eyes! He's awake," Came the gruff voice, this time it was much closer.

The brown eyes wandered up before being met by two large blue eyes. 'Who… An angel?' The blue eyes stared into his brown eyes, filling him with a bit of warmth.

"You're not going to die on me are you?" the soft voice asked dryly.

Before the question could be answered, the brown eyes of the frozen boy fluttered shut.

XXX

"_Mother! Mother!" the brown eyed boy who was no older than 11 shouted, as his terror filled eyes took in the sight around him. The room he was in was ablaze and there were cries of fear all round him, from both inside and outside the house._

"_Atticus! Run! Get out of here! Go to the forest!" a young woman with long blond hair and soft brown eyes yelled as she tried to coax her son to escape._

"_But Mother!?" the boy shrieked as he heard the sound of their front door being bashed in._

"_Atticus, please run! I promise. Father and I will come and meet you. Just run, get out of here now," the mother pleaded as she prepared herself to protect her only child._

"_B-but M-m-mommy…" the boy stuttered as his big brown eyes filled with tears._

_The mother's heart broke as she scooped her son into a hug. "Everything will be okay. I promise, just get into the forest, and Daddy and I will meet you. Please, do this for mommy," the mother cooed as she picked up her terrified son and carried him to the back door. "Just follow that path into the forest and we will meet you," she reiterated as she placed her son outside._

"_Bu-bu-but mommy!" Atticus cried as he felt his mother pull away._

"_Everything will be okay… be brave," his mother whispered as she placed a soft kiss on her son's forehead. She then turned her son around and shoved him towards the forest. "Now go… and don't look back," she said giving her son another shove._

_Listening to what his mother said, Atticus ran off into the forest, his vision blurred by the river of tears streaming form his big brown eyes. Pained shouts and screams filled his ears as he flied his small village._

'_Why? Why is this happening?' Atticus's mind screamed as his tired legs carried him farther and farther away from the ear piercing shouts of his village being destroyed._

_It was hard for the frightened, over whelmed boy to run properly through the thick forest. It was the dead of winter and the forest was covered in a thick sheet of snow that, at times, went up past the boy's knees. A bitter wind blew through the forest that caused the young boy to shiver as he ran._

_He looked up to the sky and was met by a full moon. The light from the moon cased down upon the tick forest, making it a little bit easier for Atticus to see where he was going._

"_Don't look back. Don't look back. Mother and Father will come soon," Atticus whispered as he ran._

'_Why? Why had she told me not to look back?' the far reaches of his mind asked._

"_Don't! Don't look back. They will come! They will find you soon! Just keep running," Atticus whispered as he ignored the small voice in the back of his frightened head._

_Atticus ran and ran, he ran for what felt like hours, even days. His small limbs began to ache as the freezing winter air got to him._

"_I- I have to keep going," he huffed as he stumbled through the thick snow. Just then, his frozen bare foot caught on a branch that had been buried from sight under the snow._

"_Ahhh," Atticus squeaked as he fell face first into the cold powdery snow._

_His chest heaved up and down as he rolled onto his back, his body becoming completely numb._

" _I… I can't… I have to keep going… Mother… Father," Atticus sobbed as he looked up at the now pinkish blue sky._

_Dawn had come, but where was Mother and Father?_

"_They… they will come… I just have to keep-" Atticus choked as he futilely tried to get back up._

_He had lost complete control over his limps, making it impossible for him to hoist himself up._

"_S-so cold, but… I must be brave," Atticus squeaked as he tried to fight of the stinging cold. "I have to be brave… for mommy," a small sob escaped his throat. "Mommy… Daddy… It's so cold…. So cold," he sobbed as he fought to stay awake. "So… so cold," he whimpered as his mind became blurry. "but… I must be brave," he mumbled as his brown eyes fluttered shut._

XXX

'It's… It's so warm… and so soft,' Atticus thought as he rolled around in the comfortable bed he was sleeping in.

'And that… that dream… it was so strange… if felt so weird…' he thought as he tried to recall what the dream had been about.

There had been red and orange, maybe fire; there had also been lots of shouting and screams, and a lot of snow. That's right, it had been so cold. He had been so cold in his dream, that he had felt it like it was real... Real? Had it all been real?

Atticus eyes shot open as the realization that the strange dream was not a dream at all. Atticus took in his soundings as his tired brown eyes scanned the room. He noticed right away that he was in a comfortable bed with several blankets piled on top of him.

Once his eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the room, he noticed that to his right were a line of four beds that he suspects looked similar to the one he was in. To his left hung a larger deep blue curtain that was drawn over an equally large window. By the size of the curtains, it looked as if the window reached from the floor to the ceiling.

Atticus looked around the large room more and noticed that at the foot of each bed was a comfortable looking chair and that between each bed were blue curtains that were all drawn back, he suspected they were there if one wanted more privacy.

He could not tell what color the walls of the room were but they seemed to be made of stone. At the far end of the room, he also noticed a fire place that held a few smoldering pieces of charcoal. There also seemed to be a large door next to the fire place.

Where was he? Last time he checked, he had been in the snow. Had he died? Was this heaven?

'It seemed like a pretty strange heaven,' Atticus thought as he attempted to sit up but failed, causing a sharp pain to run through his body.

'Pain? I must still be alive then,' He thought as he limply lay in his bed, letting loose an agonizing moan. The more he lay in bed, the more his head began to throb. Atticus let loose another load moan as he lifted his heave hands to his face, gently rubbing it.

Just then the door by the fire place swung open, causing Atticus to be startled, and caused him to moan in pain.

"So, you're finally awake…" came a soft, slightly sarcastic, voice that Atticus sore he had heard somewhere.

Atticus turned his head towards the voice, causing a sharp pain to run through his head and down his spine. Shutting his eyes, he hissed in pain, unable to answer the voice.

He heard soft footsteps make their way towards him. "You don't need to push yourself you know, when we found you, you were practically dead... I bet your body is throbbing with pain," the voice sighed, not sounding too concerned.

Atticus then heard the sound of the curtain by the window being drawn open. "Yes, maybe some light will help you feel better. You have been in this room for almost three days now," the voice explained.

"Th-Three days?" Atticus croaked as he slowly cracked his eyes open.

Right away he noticed that the room was now full of general sunlight that, through the frosted window, caste light blue rays of sun upon the room. He adjusted his position a bit and noticed that the only other person in the room with him was a small girl, around the same age as he. She had soft but board looking deep blue eyes, snow white skin, and white hair that reminded Atticus of star dust.

The girl's hair was billowy and full, hung to just below the shoulders and was pulled into two loosely braded pigtails that hung on either side of her shoulders. The pigtails were tied off with golden ribbon. She wore white robes with gold trimming. At the moment her bored eyes studied Atticus in silence.

"Yes… I found you three days ago… half dead in the snow," the young girl explained as she dragged the cushy chair from the foot of Atticus's bed to the side of his bed. "You gave me quite a scare," she huffed in a dull tone as she plopped down in the soft chair.

Though the girls tone was flat and uninterested, Atticus had a feeling that the girl really had been worried. "W-Where am I?" Atticus croaked as he tried to ignore the throbbing pain in the back of his head.

"Oh right…" the girl said, her board blue yes perking up a bit. "You at the Foreseeing Temple," the girl said her voice just as bored as ever, despite the twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh….." Atticus mindlessly replied. He felt like he had heard the name of this temple before. Like it was a very important place, but at the moment, his head was too sore for him to recall exactly what was so special about this temple.

The two sat in silence for a moment, only the far off sound of chanting monks could be heard. The silence awkwardly hung in the room, almost causing the room's air to become cold.

"So… why were you in the snow…?" the girl asked, breaking the silence with her soft almost monotone voice.

Atticus looked at her dumbly, his mouth slightly ajar, as the question rolled around in his throbbing brain. "What…?" he asked, the girls question not quite processing in his tired brain.

"I found you burring under a pile of snow in the forest… What were you doing buried in the forest… It's odd for a boy as young as you to be taking a nap alone, in the snow, in the middle of the forest," the girl replied in what seemed to be an annoyed tone, thought her facial expression seem very calm. "Why were you there?"

"I was… waiting for… my parents," Atticus explained after a long moment of silence. As he spoke his eyes looked to the ceiling, a strange numbness began to overtake his being.

"What do you mean, waiting for your parents?" the girls expression looked almost worried as she spoke. The only person they had found in the forest at the time was this boy and no one else.

"There was fire… and screaming…" Atticus began to explain as the events of a few nights ago started to come back to him. "And my Mother… she told me to run… to not look back…. to wait in the forest for her and Father…. And to be brave," Atticus's whole body went numb as he spoke, it almost felt as if he was not in the room anymore, but somewhere else.

The girl sat quietly as she listened to the boy speak, her bored eyes becoming a little worried. She had overheard that three nights ago, the same day they had come across this boy, a village by a large lake, not too far from the Temple, had burned down. Not a single sign of life had been found. Even all the animals had been brutally slain. By the time any reinforcement had come, the whole village had been demolished. They never found who the culprit was.

"You… you wouldn't come from a village that bordered Lake Red Eyes… would you?" the girl asked, a little reluctant to hear the answer.

"Y-yeah… why?" Atticus asked as his eyes shot from the ceiling to the girl.

The girl sat silently for a second, thinking about what to say next. "I… My name is Cosette," she said, in an attempt to distract the boy form her last question.

Atticus sat in silence as he tried to make sense of what was going on. After realizing that Cosette was waiting for him to introduce himself, Atticus cleared his sore throat. "I-I'm Atticus," he said, his voice less scratchy now that he was waking up.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Atticus… Why don't I bring you some food and water? I bet your hungry," Cosette said with a cheerful voice, though her eyes still had a tinge of boredom to them, Atticus suspected that it was her normal expression.

"Oh… right… yeah I guess I am hungry," Atticus replied, though his body was still far too sore to worry about hunger.

"Okay then, I will be right back with something for you to eat," Cosette said in a soft voice as she stood up from her chair and left the room.

Atticus watched the girl leave as his mind started to wandered. It was hard for him to believe that any of this was real.

It all felt so fake, like a dream. There was a numbness that would settle into his body every now and then, making it hard for him to keep a clear train of thought. He felt that at any moment he would wake up in his own room to the smell of his mother's cooking. Despite this feeling, that moment never came.

What had happened in his village? Why had there been so much screaming? Where were his parents?

Just then a sound at the other end of the door caught his attentions. Atticus looked to the door, expecting Cosette to come through with food, but the door never opened. Listening carefully Atticus noticed that whatever, or whoever, was at the other side of the door had stopped. He leaned over in his bed and noticed a shadow at the crack of the door.

"So, the boy is in here?" Came a deep manly voice.

"Yes, he has been asleep for a few days now… Have you found any clues?" Came the kind voice of an elderly lady.

Atticus slowed down his breathing in an attempt to hear better. He had a feeling that whoever was outside his door was talking about him.

"Well, not anything in this general vicinity," the man explained.

"Oh, I see," Came the voice of the old lady. "So he was the only one found in the forest? No one else?" The old lady asked.

"I'm afraid so," the man replied, his voice growing soft. "But…"

Atticus felt his heart sink at the man's words. 'Does this mean that my parents had…' Atticus didn't even want to think about it. He strained his ears once again, noticing that the two outside were still talking.

"But…?" The old lady questioned.

"Well, we speculate that the boy may be from the village by Lake Red Eyes… You know, the small mining village that mostly mines for rubies…" the man explained. "You see, it was reported that the boy's hands and arms had burn marks on them despite being found in the snow… and the village had been burnt down," the man's voice was steady and serious as he spoke.

Atticus pulled his hand from under the covers, noticing that they were bandaged up. Why had he not noticed this before?

"Oh my… no one was found alive in the village… not even the oxen… it has all burnt to the ground has it not… if the boy had come from that village, how could he have escaped?" The old lady spoke in a low sad voice.

"That's what I would like to know… I guess we will just have to ask him when he wakes up…" The man sighed. The two then walked off down the hall, their footsteps and mumbling voices slowly faded away.

Atticus lay in bed as his brown eyes studied the stone ceiling. "Lies… Lies," He mumbled to himself as tears slowly started to trickle down his cheek. "They are alive. They will come and meet me," he choked as his bandaged hand wiped a tear from his cheek.

He could not believe what he had heard. Was it true? Had his village really burned down? Is that why his mother told him to run? Had they been attacked? 'Why had I not realized it before?' Atticus thought as every last fiber of his being tried to deny the idea that his village and family was no more.

'But you knew all along…' came the same voice from last night that had questioned his mother's words.

'What would I have seen if I had looked back? I would have just seen my village…' Atticus mindlessly thought as he denied everything he had herd.

'The screaming… the yelling… the fire… it had all been there… you just refused to see it,' his inner voice calmly said as it faded away.

"No… but… Mother said," Atticus whimpered in a broken choke as more tears fell for his brown eyes.

Just then the door to his room swung open to reveal Cosette with an array of foods on a large silver tray. Her keen blue eyes immediately took notice of the tears streaming down Atticus's cheeks. Without saying a word, she gracefully strolled over to the chair by Atticus's bed and took a seat. She set the tray of food on the bedside table before turning back to Atticus.

Atticus felt ashamed for crying the way he was. He had told his mother that he would be brave, but here he was, crying in front of a girl he just met. "I-" Atticus choked, unable to say much more.

"It's hard to lose all you ever had… but I can tell you are strong," Cosette bored blue eyes became stern as she spoke, causing Atticus's tears to let up a bit.

Atticus sat in silence as he tried to find the right words to reply, but failed. The story of his village still hung heavy in his mind, making it hard for him to speak, let alone think clearly.

"Why don't you eat something… It will help…" Cosette said, turning to the try and handing Atticus a roll. Her eyes had gone back to being bored but there was still a sternness to them that made Atticus listen well to what she was saying.

Without saying a word, Atticus took the roll from the girl's hand. It was crusty on the outside, but one could tell that the middle was going to be light and fluffy. It was also warm, almost as if it had just been taken from the oven not too long ago.

It reminded Atticus of the bread his mother used to make. Letting lose a sigh, Atticus held the bread to his lips and took a large bit. To his surprise, the roll was delicious. It could have been from his hunger, but it was the best roll he had ever eaten in all his eleven years of living. Without finishing the bite he had just taken, he hungrily shoved the roll back into his mouth.

Cosette jumped back in surprise but regained her self almost immediately. "I knew eating would make you feel better," she said as she noticed that the boy's tears had stopped.

"Don't eat too fast you will choke," she commented in a stern unamused voice as Atticus began to gag on the bread. She handed him a glass of water, of which Atticus down immediately. She watched as Atticus finished every last speck of food on the tray she had brought. She was not too surprised; the boy had gone a few days without eating.

"I…" Atticus began to say as he swallowed the last of the water. "Thank you… for saving me… and feeding me," he said in a small voice. He had to admit that he felt a little better now that he had eaten.

"Don't mention it…" Cosette replied, a small smile graced her bored face. Thought Atticus had perked up some, she could tell that he was still coping with the current situation.

The two sat in silence as a peaceful but sad air fill the room. The light from the window had gone from a delightful blue to a calming orange pink, signaling the setting of the sun.

"Well, you should probably get back to sleep," Cosette said as she fixed her posture. "You still seem to have a fever and your body is still pretty weak," she stood up as she spoke. "Once you feel better, I can give you a tour of the temple," she said as she half closed the window curtain, allowing some light to hit the wall across from Atticus's bed.

"Thanks again… for everything," Atticus said not quite sure what else should be said.

"You are welcome to stay here as long as you like. This is a sanctuary… It will always be open to those that are lost… to those that need help… or both," Cosette explained as she collected the empty tray. "So rest up and get better," a small smile pulled at the ends of her lips, almost as if she was trying to be comforting but failing.

Atticus nodded as he buried deep into the bed's blankets. The bed was so warm and comfortable. It reminded him a lot of the bed his parent used to sleep in. They had always let him sleep with them when he was feeling down or scared. A sad feeling sunk into Atticus's heart as the thought of his parent over took his mind. He could not help but hope that they were still alive.

"Well then, I will come and check on you later tonight," Cosette said as he opened the door. Swinging the door fully open, she took a step out, but before fully leaving the room, she stopped. "You know… You're a really brave boy… and crying will never change that…" she said in a low voice, not looking back at Atticus. Without waiting for a reply, she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

XXX

The next week dragged by slowly for Atticus. He had spent the whole time in bed, regaining his strength. Despite feeling almost back to normal after 5 days in bed, the nurses at the temple insisted that he stay in bed the full 7 days. The only time he was allowed out of bed was to use the bathroom, which was located not too far from his room.

As the week passed, Atticus's acceptance of his parent's death began to sink in. He often cried over his loss when no one else was around. Despite knowing that they were probably dead, he could not help but hope that his parents were still alive somewhere. Maybe they had been turned around in the forest and had gone in a different direction.

Atticus also didn't know what to do with himself once he was fully healed. He was only 11 years old. Would he have to go live in an orphanage? The idea of living in an orphanage did not settle well with him. He knew that many orphanages were run down and the children were overworked, sometimes even sold off for money. He had heard village people talk about it a few times and Atticus had always been glad that both of his parents were healthy and alive. But now that was not the case now. They were both gone and Atticus was alone.

He didn't want to go to the orphanage but what else was there for him to do? He could just travel around alone, but that seemed dangerous. He would probably just freeze to death again. Despite this worry hanging heavy on his little shoulders, Atticus tried hard not to think about it too much.

He would worry about it when the time came.

Today was a very exciting day for Atticus. A full week had passed since he had woken up and he was now allowed to wander the temple. Though he was somewhat healed, the nurse insisted that he stay another few weeks until they were certain he was going to be fine.

Atticus could tell that the temple he was in was quite large. It was almost the size of a small castle; Cosette had told him that. He had also learned that this was the temple that housed the high priestess. Atticus knew that this temple was special but he never suspected it to house the most respected religious figure in the country.

Atticus let loose a content sigh as he hopped out of bed. Though it was not much, he had been given a simple tan robe and a pair of matching tan slippers. The robe went to just below his knees, exposing the bottom half of his legs. Despite it being freezing cold outside, inside the temple was comfortably warm.

"Well, looks like you're ready to go…" Cosette greeted as she strolled into the room.

"Oh, good morning Cosette. It seems like the perfect day for a tour of a temple if you ask me," Atticus replied with a bright smile. Despite the pain of losing everything he had, Atticus remembered his dear mother's words. She had always told him to smile and be grateful for what you have, even if it isn't much. Besides, Atticus was not one for letting his emotions get others down.

Cosette studied Atticus for a second. She had heard the boy cry himself to sleep almost every night. It always surprised her to see how cheerful he could be when others were around. 'I guess we all deal with grief and loss in our own ways,' Cosette thought with a shrug. "Well then, we better get on our way. The temple is big and we should try to get done with most of the tour before lunch.," Cosette said as she leaded Atticus out the door.

As Atticus expected, the temple was large and grand. The hospital wing of the temple, where he had been housed for the past week and a half, consisted of two floors, each floor having four rooms that resembled the one he was in. His room was on the second floor of the hospital wing. The whole wing was made of gray smooth stone and was decorated with large grand windows.

Next to the hospital wing was a small dining area. It was where food was served to people who lived and worked in the temple. Next to that wing was a large shrine, where people would come to give their respects and pray for the heart's wishes. This part of the temple looked more like an over glorified shrine, if anything. It housed areas for people to sit, an area to collect money and was all focused around a large stone tablet that was covered in some ancient writing. Etched into the top of the tablet, above the writing, was a picture of what seemed to be a light angle and a dark angle. There were also statues of past priestesses and priests decorating the room.

The room it's self was made of white marble. The only window in the room was a large stain glass window that hung over the stone tablet. The picture of the stain glass window was of a man in royal black and gold armor surrounded by many mythical beasts. The most prominent thing about the man in the window was his yellow eyes. The sun's rays created a rainbow of color that decorates the rooms white walls when shown through the window.

Connecting to this room was an area of the temple that only authorized personnel would enter. Atticus could not help but wonder what was hiding behind the door but Cosette assured him that it was nothing too interesting.

Cosette then showed him several meditation rooms, an art room, where monks would come and practice their calligraphy and such, and an area outside that was a garden during spring, summer and fall.

She then showed him the part of the castle where people come to train to become monks, priestesses and priests. Atticus could not help but notice that everyone who seemed to live at the temple full time wore tan robes, just like the one he had on now, but Cosette wore snow white robes with gold trimming. It seemed quite queer when he thought about it.

"Cosette…?" Atticus said as the two walked down a long hallway. "Do you live here?" he asked, knowing that the question sounded silly.

Cosette blue eyes had a hint of confusion to them as she stopped in her track and studied Atticus. "What…? Of course I live here…Why do you ask?" Cosette replied as her eyes studied the brown haired boy.

"Well you see," Atticus replied as he too stopped talking and faced Cosette. "It's just, I couldn't help but notice that your robes are different from everyone else's… So I was just wondering if you were from another temple or something," Atticus explained as he awkwardly looked out the window. He had no clue why this was making him feel so uncomfortable.

"Oh yes, I guess I forgot to tell you," Cosette replied softly as her sharp blue eyes looked out the window too. "I am in training to become the next High Priestess… My robes are a sign of my status," she explained in a far off tone, almost as if she was talking about someone else.

Atticus gaze shot to Cosette, his brown eyes full of confusion. "The next High Priestess?" Atticus questioned his voice a little louder then he meant it to be. He had not expected that to be her answer. Though Atticus did not know much about the High Priestess, he did know that she was almost as powerful as the king. It was her job to watcher over the land's safety and warn if disaster is going to strike.

"Yes, the next High Priestess… that's what I am here for," Cosette said plain and simple.

"Wow, the next High Priestess… that's a pretty ambitious dream to have," Atticus commented.

Cosette's blue eyes quickly glanced over at Atticus before looking out the window yet again. "Oh, being the next High Priestess is not my dream…" Cosette closed her eyes as she spoke. "It is my destiny. I was born to be the next High Priestess…" she said softly as she opened her eyes.

"Oh…" Atticus replied awkwardly, not quite sure how to reply. "Have you been training since birth?" he slowly asked, hoping he was not poking too much into Cosette's busyness.

"Oh, well, I was told I came here when I was a year old… and before you ask, my parents are still alive. I see them every few years when they make a visit to the temple," Cosette replied, glancing over at Atticus.

"Oh, right…" Atticus replied awkwardly yet again. It felt strange talking with the next High Priestess. "Do… do you ever get to leave this temple?" he asked, wondering if Cosette ever got a chance to see anything other than these grey stone walls.

"Oh yes! During spring, summer and fall I travel around quite a bit. It is my duty to visit all the temples in the kingdom as well as the castle. I must make an attempt to connect with the people of this land before I come of age," Cosette recited in a dry voice, almost as if she has told this story several times.

"Oh really? What happens when you become of age?" Atticus asked, become more curious as the seconds passed.

"Well, once I am of age, I will become the full time High Priestess and must spent most of my days here, in this temple… only able to leave on certain occasions," Cosette sighed, her expression very bored.

Atticus could not help but feel sorry for the girl. That did not seem like a very fun future, being locked up in a temple like this. "Oh… I'm sorry to hear that…" he said in a soft voice.

"Oh, you don't need to worry. It's my destiny and I have come to accept it," Cosette said plainly as she twirled some of her white hair around her finger.

Atticus sat for a moment thinking of what to say next. "So, if you're the next High Priestess, then you can use magic, right? Can you cast any spells? Are you able to read the future yet?" he finally asked, hoping he did not sound too excited.

A small smug smile seemed to tug at the ends of Cosette lips as she listened to Atticus's questions. "Well, I am still in training but I can cast a few spells. I can sort of see the future when I concentrate hard," she replied, an almost smug look graced her snow white face.

"Wow! That's so cool," Atticus cooed as starts shined in his eyes. It was common for people of this land to be able to cast magic spells. Some people were stronger than others and it came easier to them while others needed years of training before they could cast a single spell. Atticus has always wanted to try to use magic but his family had never had enough money to get him proper training. "I wish I could use magic…" Atticus said in a dreamy voice.

The two sat quietly for a second, the grand tour of the temple all together forgotten.

"You know Atticus… I know you have nowhere to go once you are all better… but you are always welcome to stay here and train to be a monk…" Cosette said in a calm voice.

"Me? Become a monk?" Atticus asked, his big brown eyes studying Cosette.

"Well, yes. I know you have nowhere else to go… and if you study as a monk, you will be given the chance to learn some magic," Cosette pointed out in a monotone voice, though there was a small twinkle in her blue eyes.

"Oh… I never really thought about training to be a monk… but learning magic would be neat…" Atticus thought out loud.

"Well, you still have time to decide, so no rush… but I do hope you make the right decision…" Cosette cooed as she studied a rabbit out the window.

Before Atticus could answer, he was cut off by the sound of the lunch bell. "Well, we better head back. The nurses are still wary about you being out of bed all day," Cosette said as she turned to head back to the hospital wing.

Atticus pouted as he slowly followed Cosette. He was sick of sitting around all day long doing nothing, but at least he had been able to get out for a little bit today.

XXX

The next day Atticus woke bright and early. He had decided the night before that he would sneak out and explore the temple alone today. Cosette had told him that she was busy all day with training and would be unable to keep him company. Though Cosette's company was always welcome, Atticus did not mind exploring the temple on his own. After eating breakfast, and once the nurses were preoccupied with other things, Atticus snuck out of bed.

He walked along the many corridors, remembering well where he had been yesterday. He walked past the many meditation halls, as well as the shrine, until he reached the corridor where he and Cosette had talked the day before.

This corridor lead to another area of the temple he had not yet been to. Cosette had mentioned that it was the place where people without anywhere else to go stay. Atticus was curious to see who was there. 'Maybe my Mother and Father escaped and are taking refuge here…' Atticus thought with all his heart, though he knew the prospect of it was very slim.

He hummed a small tune as he walked along. Atticus forced himself to ponder Cosette's words from yesterday in an attempt to keep his mind off his parents. 'A monk? Me? But aren't monks supposed to be balled and religious…' he thought as he strode along.

The idea of having to shave his head was something he would rather not think about, though now that he thought about it, not many of the monks here were bald. 'Maybe bald monks are just a stereotype. Besides, if I train to be a monk, I will get to learn how to cast spells,' he thought in excitement, thought he was still unsure of what he really wanted to do once he was all better.

Before he knew it, he had reached the other area of the hall. The hall he came out of leaded into a large room where many people were sitting and relaxing. There were all sorts of people there. Many seemed to be travellers who were just taking a load off their feet. 'Why would anyone want to travel in the dead of winter?' Atticus thought as he studied the many people.

The room was a large room made of gray stone, just like the rest of the temple. There were chairs and stone benches circled around a few large fire pits. Many of the people seemed to be warming their limbs by the fire and chatting about this and that. There were a few windows decorating the walls as well as many doors and hallways that lead to other areas.

Atticus slowly looked around as he decided where to explore next. No one in the room seemed to take much notice in his presence. Right as he was about to make for a far hall that seemed to lead deeper into this area of the temple, something soft but sturdy blocked his path.

"OOOOF!" Atticus huffed as he ran into that thing and fell to the floor.

"Oh my! I am so sorry. Are you okay?" came the soft voice of an older lady.

Atticus cracked open his brown eyes and was met by a surprising sight. "Mother?" Atticus whispered in a small voice, his heart almost stopping. Upon further inspection the woman, who was now bending down to help him up, was not his mother. Atticus felt his heart sink as he realized that she was just another stranger.

"Mother?" the kind lady questioned as she tilted her head to the side. The woman's features were kind and caring, very much like Atticus's mothers were. She had soft light blue hair that hung down past her shoulders and soft kind blue eyes that almost matched her hair. "Are you lost little boy? Are you looking for your mother?" She asked in a soothing tone.

Upon further inspection, Atticus notice that the woman wore light brown robes very much like the ones he too was wearing, except hers were a bit more feminine and reached to the floor. "I… no," Atticus replied in a small voice.

"A boy as young as you wandering alone? Your parent must be worried," the lady said as she rested a kind hand on Atticus's small shoulder.

"They…. They're… dead," Atticus admitted in a small voice, feeling small tears collect at the corner of his brown eyes.

Atticus's answer must have caught the lady by surprise, for she let loss a small gasp. "Oh my, I'm so sorry," she cooed as she rubbed the side of Atticus's arm.

Her touch was very comforting and reminded Atticus very much of his mother, causing the tears in his eyes to fall down his cheeks. "I-It's okay," Atticus choked as he tried to get a hold of himself.

"Oh my, sweetie, don't cry. Here, how about we go into another room and you can calm down," the kind lady suggested as she helped Atticus up.

Slightly blinded by his tears, Atticus followed the lady to a small empty room. His mind was too full of thought of his deceased parents to pay attention to what was going on. Many people in the room they were just in glanced over at the crying boy but did not seem too bothered by the situation.

The lady guided him into a small room with a bed, two comfy chairs and a fire place. "This room is used by travellers but no one is using it today, so you can stay here till you calm down…" the lady cooed as she coaxed Atticus to sit in one of the chairs.

Without much hesitation Atticus sat down in a chair and wiped the tears from his eyes. After a few deep breaths to help calm himself down he looked around and noticed the lady was sitting in the chair next to him. "Well now, how do you feel?" She asked as she handed him a glass of water.

"B-Better…" Atticus choked, feeling embarrassed yet again for crying in front of someone he just met.

"My name is Maria… what's your name?" She asked as she studied Atticus.

"My name is Atticus," Atticus replied in a small voice. "Thank you for helping me," he said as he studied Maria. He had not noticed it before but despite her eyes being full of kindness, Maria looked very tired and thin.

"Atticus is it? Well it is very nice to meet you? Why are you here Atticus?" Maria asked with a kind smile.

Atticus hesitated for a moment as he tried to find the right words to describe his situation. Despite just meeting this lady, he felt like he could trust her. "I…. My parent died in a fire… and the people at the temple found me and saved me," Atticus replied, not really wanting to delve into the fine details of his situation.

"Oh I see… So you are all alone now?" Maria asked in a soft voice.

"Y-yes!" Atticus squeaked as more tears threatened to fall.

"You are very brave you know… Being all alone like this and still being alive and well," Maria commented as a soft smile graced her tired face. "I am sure your parents would be proud," she cooed as she patted the top of Atticus's head.

Atticus's wet brown eyes studied Maria as he sniffled. "I wish they were still here," he squeaked, unable to really think of what else to say. "Why did they have to die?" he asked as he let lose a loud sob. For some reason it was easy for him to talk to Maria, maybe it was because she resembled his mother.

"Death is something none of us can avoid… and it hurts the living more than the dead," Maria replied, her voice very distant, almost as if she was telling this more to herself then to Atticus.

"W-What do you mean?" Atticus asked as he wiped the tears from his cheeks.

"The dead pass on to the other world, but we are left here to deal with losing them… It can be hard… I know… but we must not give up simply because someone we love is gone," she explained, her kind blue eyes becoming sad.

Atticus sat quietly as he silently looked at Maria. She was right. His mother would be so sad if he gave up on life. 'Maybe this is why she told me to be brave… maybe she… she knew this might happen,' Atticus thought as he sniffled his nose a bit.

"You know, my husband passed away just a few years ago," Maria said, her voice low and sad but her eyes none the less kind. "But my son… he is still alive," She said looking to Atticus. "He is probably about your age, too."

"Your son… is my age… is he here?" Atticus asked, liking the idea of having a boy the same age as he around.

"No, I'm afraid not… he is at the capital training to become a knight…" Maria replied as she looked out the window.

"A knight?" Atticus squeaked, his curiosity now peaking a bit. "But, don't you need to be 13 before you can start Knight training in the capital? If your son is the same age as me, then he is far too young to start training," Atticus explained, wondering if this lady mistook him for being older than 11.

"Oh I know, my Zane is only 11 years old but because of special circumstances, they have allowed him to join early. You see, my husband was a head knight and had died in action… It was a hard time when the news of his death came…" Maria spoke softly when mentioning the death of her husband. "But because of his status and Zane's determination, and maybe a few connections, Zane was able to start his knight training early," Maria carried on explaining.

"Oh…" Atticus said as he thought about the ladies situation. They had both lost people dear to them. No wonder she seemed to understand his feelings so well. "How come you are here?" Atticus asked.

"Well, after my husband's death I became a bit ill... I didn't want to get in the way of Zane's studies, so I came to live up here," she explained.

'So, she is sick… maybe that is why she looks so tired,' Atticus thought.

"Even though I am almost better, I have decided to stay here at this temple and help take care of the travellers that come in... this way, my son can study and not have to worry about me… besides… meeting all the travellers can be fun," Maria went on with a soft smile on her lips.

"So you live here now, full time?" Atticus asked as the idea of him becoming a monk rolled around in his head.

"I guess you can say that. It's nice living here… you get to help people in need" Maria replied. "Do you have anywhere to go?" she asked Atticus.

"Me? No…. not really… But I have been invited to stay here and train to become a monk," Atticus explained.

"I see. The monks at this temple do learn many spells… and this is a safe place to live… I am sure that is what your mother would want most," Maria said the last part in a very soft knowing voice.

'My safety… that probably is what my parents would want… I was always Mother and Father's priority…' Atticus thought sadly. "Maybe… Maybe I will stay here…" Atticus whispered more to himself than to anyone.

"Yes… if you stay here, then maybe one day you can meet my son, Zane. He comes to visit me sometimes," Maria pointed out with a bright smile.

"Your son? Do you think we would get along?" Atticus asked, his brown eyes shining.

"I'm sure of it," Maria said with smile and a nod.

For the first time since arriving at the temple, a true smile spread across Atticus's face. "I can't wait to meet him!" Atticus sang. He could not help but wonder what kind of person this Zane was. 'We are going to become the bestest of friends,' Atticus thought happily. 

((So, how did you like Chapter 4? Was it good? Was it sad? Did you ball like a baby? GOOD! Did you like my OC Cosette? I am still getting used to making my own characters and stuff, so sorry if they seem boring. Also, Fubuki was a bit OOC, hey his parents died so give him a break, but in the next chapter he will be more himself, I promise.

In the next chapter Fubuki will get to meet Judai, Johan and Yubel. I wonder how things have been going with training Johan to be more 'human'? You will just have to read. :P Fabuki will also get to meet Kaizer. How will that go over? Will they really be the best of friends? You will find out soon! The next chapter should be out in about a week and a half to two weeks. I will try my best to get it out sooner than later.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, follows and favorites. They all made my day! I just love to know that people are actually reading this! Please, do let me know in a review of what you think of the story thus far. I love to hear from my readers!

I want to thank Judaisbutt for beta reading for me again.

I also need to thank my friend Jingko for talking with me and helping me out with figuring out how this story is going to be… written and laid out so that is it now a mess. Thanks lady! Love ya ;D

Well I hope you all take care and I will see you NEXT TIME!))


	5. Chapter 5

((So here is chapter 5. I'm sorry it took so long to get out. Anyways, this chapter turned out longer than expected. I know I said Zane was going to be in this chapter but you are going to have to wait till the next one for him to show up. None the less, I think this chapter was pretty fun to write and hopefully just as fun to read. I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX or any of its characters.))

Chapter 5

Part 1

To the Castle

"Please, give this to my Zane when you see him," Marie said as she handed Atticus a small package.

Atticus took the package from Marie and studied it. "What is it?" he asked as he took note on how light the small box was.

"It's some homemade sweet. I put all his favorites in there. There should be enough for the both of you, so when you give him this package, please enjoy the sweets together," Marie said with a smile.

"Sure thing! I really am excited to finally meet Zane," Atticus replied with an equally large smile.

"I am sure you are going to have a good time together," Marie cooed. "Now, you better get going, you don't want to keep the others waiting," Maire said as she checked over Atticus like a mother hen.

"Oh, right. Cosette gets testy when she has to wait," Atticus said with a giggle.

"Oh, and before you go there is one more thing I need you to give my Zane," Marie said with a playful smile.

"Sure, what is it?" Atticus asked, turning his head to the side.

"Tell him I miss him and wish him the best in his studies," Marie said in a soft voice. "And give him this," she cooed as she leaned down and placed a small loving kiss on Atticus's cheek. "Now you better get going before Cosette gets impatient," Marie said as she prompted Atticus to leave.

XXX

Atticus smiled as he studied the small box Marie had entrusted him with. It had only been yesterday since he, Cosette, and a few other monks had set off on a trip to the capitol. They were traveling by foot and had been told that it would take about two days before they would make it to the capitol.

Cosette, being the High Priestess in training, always made a visit to the capital each season and since it was now spring, she had to visit the capital yet again. She had decided to take Atticus along with her. Though she would never admit it, she enjoyed having the company of someone her age.

Once his injuries had all fully healed, Atticus immediately started his training as a monk. He was happy to find that he was not expected to shave his head, at least not yet. To everyone surprise, Atticus was a natural at using magic. Though his magic was still weak, he was now able to cast a simple healing spell that was strong enough to fully heal small flesh wounds.

Much of his training revolved around meditation, which he was still getting used to. He was expected to meditate at least 4 hours a day. This was his least favorite part of training and he would often find ways around it. One reason he was so keen on going to the capital was so that he would not have to meditate.

Another area of studying to be a monk that Atticus did not like was the cloths he had to wear. All the monks were expected to wear boring tan robes. Atticus had always taken an interest in looking as nice as he could and tan was just not his favorite color. Though it did not sit well with him, he did not fight wearing the robes too much; he figured he could find some way to upgrade his outfit later. Though he was a boy, he had taken to wearing the girl's tan robe that reached to the floor instead of stopping at his knees. At first many of the monks did not seem to keen but Cosette had told them to let Atticus wear whatever style robe he wanted to.

Atticus had also become quite close to Marie since meeting her. Once she had fully found out why Atticus was there in the first place, she had become somewhat of a surrogate mother. She always went out of her way to make sure Atticus was well.

Marie had also begun to grow on Atticus. He would often take time out of his busy day to see her and talk with her. He had a feeling that she was lonely being so far from her son.

"So, have you ever been to the capital before," Cosette asked dryly as she walked along side Atticus. It was early morning and the comforting spring sun shone down on the group as they walked.

"No, this is my first time! I am kind of excited. I heard that there is so much to do and see in the capitol. I have always wanted to go," Atticus sung as his walk turning into a little skip.

"Wow, calm down there. We will only be in the capital for a few days and we will be very busy," Cosette said dully.

"I know, but I am still really excited," Atticus said with a large grin. His skip turned back into a walk as he looked around.

Most of the plants were now in bloom. The sides of the path were decorated with tiny wild flowers and all of the trees carried fresh green leaves. In the distance he could hear running water from a nearby river. The only snow left was the snow that decorated the tops of the high mountains in the far distance.

"I hear some of the monks mention there being a wild boy at the castle… is it true?" Atticus asked as he looked from his surroundings to Cosette.

"Oh yes, I heard about that too…" Cosette replied, not seeming too interested.

"I wonder what he is like…?" Atticus said his eyes wide with excitement. "I wonder if he will try to eat us," he giggled.

Cosette rolled her eyes as she let loose a big sigh. "He is being trained personally by the prince to be more…. 'Human', so I highly doubt he is going to eat you," Cosette sighed, her bored blue eyes staring straight ahead.

"Really? Trained by the prince? How long had this wild child been at the castle anyways?" Atticus sighed as he pictured a crazy looking kid with wild yellow eyes, a foamy drooly mouth and messy unkempt brown hair.

"Hummm, I think they found the boy sometime in spring last year," Cosette said in a dry tone. Though she had been to the castle since the boy had been found, she had yet to actually meet the crazy child.

"A year…?" Atticus hummed. "That's not too long… I wonder if he can talk…?" he commented as his image of a wild kid entered his mind yet again.

"Who knows… I am sure he is tamer now than when they first found him, though," Cosette said as her bored blue eyes looked to the sky.

"Yeah…" Atticus said as he let silence fill in.

The two walked along quietly for a while, both thinking about different things. Atticus's mind thought about the wild boy and if he had sharp tiger teeth or not, while Cosette thought about napping.

"So, have you ever met the prince?" Atticus asked loudly causing some nearby birds to take flight.

A grimace graced Cosette's face at Atticus's question. "Oh, yes… I have met him a few times," Cosette grumbled, her tone not too happy. Cosette had met Prince Jaden on more than just a few occasions and had never really gotten along with the boy.

As a baby, Jaden had been quite cute but sometime around the age of four, the small prince had decided that heckling Cosette was a fun hobby. He would always go out of his way to play tricks or be a pain in an attempt to get a reaction out of the young priestess. Being older and thus wiser, Cosette normally had the upper hand over the prince in the end. Her visits normally started with annoyance and ended with victory; as well as a pissed off Prince Jaden. Maybe Atticus would be a good distraction.

Atticus studied the unpleasant look on Cosette's face, wondering why her mood had changed so suddenly. "I-Is he mean or something…?" Atticus asked, wondering if the prince could possibly not be a nice person. He had heard that the prince was kind but maybe those were just rumors.

"Oh, mean is not he word I would use to describe him," Cosette said as she rolled her blue eyes.

"Then he is nice…?" Atticus asked with a nervous smile. He hoped that the prince was not too snobby.

"He can be nice," Cosette admitted. In truth, Prince Jaden had never been mean nor was he stuck up, he was just your average nine year old brat.

"So then… Why do you seem so down about seeing him?" Atticus asked; not quite sure why Cosette seemed so annoyed when it came to the prince.

Cosette silently stared up at the sky as her thoughts wandered. In reality, she did not mind the prince. She knew he had a good heart and would one day grown out of his mischievous ways. She would never admit caring for the prince aloud. "Soon we must stop for lunch," Cosette commented, completely ignoring Atticus's question. She then left Atticus's side and walked a head.

Atticus started after Cosette, not quite sure what just happened. Had she not heard his question? He then followed after the girl, wondering what they would be having for lunch today.

XXX

"Wow! These buildings are so tall," Atticus said in awe as he walked down the busy road that lead to the castile.

The group had traveled all day yesterday and had only just arrived in the city not too long ago. It was early morning and the sun was shining bright on the bustling city. Not in all his 11 years of life had Atticus ever seen such a sight.

There were tall stone buildings of all shapes, sizes and color as far as the eye could see. Some of the buildings were shops, others were Inns, and there were unmarked buildings; Atticus wondered if they were houses. The streets were packed with people as well. The majority of them were older and everyone seemed to be busy. Thought he was mesmerized by his surroundings, Atticus made it a point to not get separated from the others.

At the moment they were being escorted down the street by a few knights. Many people on the street would stop and wave in excitement to Cosette. Cosette would kindly return the waves, her expression a little less bored. It was important that she also connected with the people of the land and that was why she did most of her traveling by foot.

Before long, the group arrived at the castle. Atticus had never seen a real castle before and the one he was standing in front of now was everything he had ever expected a castle to be. The castle looked ten times bigger than any house he had ever seen. He knew for sure that he would get lost in the castle if left on his own.

Around the castle, separating it from the city was a large stone wall that was as tall as three houses. The castle was mostly made of dark, almost black, stone that shone brilliantly in the spring sun.

As they walked through the gate of the wall, the group was met by a large wide path of black stone stairs that lead to the entrance of the castle. Atticus's eyes almost popped out of his head when he caught sight of the amount of stairs. 'There must be over 100 stairs,' his mind screamed, not looking forward to climbing all of them.

"We are just on time, milady, so we better hurry so we don't become late. We must not keep His Majesty waiting," a monk commented as he led the way up the stairs.

After what felt like centuries, the group finally made it to the top of the long stairway. With barely any time to catch their breaths, the group was lead down a number of corridors by a servant of the castile, before making it to what seemed to be a meeting room.

"Atticus, you will come with us to greet the King and Prince but after I have private business to attend to before we leave for the Knight's training center," Cosette explained as the group made their way into the meeting room and took seats in some cushy velvet red chairs. "You will have to keep yourself busy until I am done," she added.

"Oh right," Atticus said as he nervously studied a large magnificent golden chair that he assumed belong to the king. On either side of this chair sat two smaller but equally magnificent chairs. At the moment, Atticus was filled with a mix of excitement and terror. Never in his life did he ever think he would be meeting royalty. It made his heart pump with adrenalin.

Atticus looked around the room. The room's walls were a dark grey color. There were a few windows to the right that were decorated with red velvet curtains; sun shone through the windows, filling the room with a warm light. There were a few paintings decorating the walls of the room as well as a large book case that housed many books. The majority of the floor was covered by brilliant red carpeting. The seats they were all seated in faced the three thrones. Behind the thrones, and to the left, was a large wooden door that sat parallel to the door they had just entered through.

They waited for a good ten minutes before a very important looking brown haired man in brilliant red robes made his way into the room. He blew a trumpet like instrument and commanded everyone to stand up. After that the man read off some very official sounding words from a scroll; Atticus did not pay too much attention to what the man was reading.

"And now I present to you, His Majesty, The King and Prince Jaden," the man in the red robes sang in a large magnificent voice.

As if on cue the large wooden door opened outward to reveal a magnificent man in royal red and blue clothing. Atticus guessed this was the king. The man majestically strode into the room and made his way to the largest of the three thrones, taking a seat when he got to it. A blond man in light blue and pink cloths followed after the king and stood to his left.

After the blond man, came a small boy with two toned brown hair and brown eyes. The boy looked no older than ten. He wore a royal blue tunic and a red cape. He also had on brown expensive looking boots. The boy's face seemed bored and uncomfortable. Atticus assumed that this was the prince. The boys took the smallest of the three thrones, sitting to the right of his father.

After the boy, came a creature Atticus had never seen before. The creature's skin tone was black and grayish purple. It had wild black and white hair and huge black wings. Half of its body seemed to be made of brilliant black scales. It also seemed to have a third eye on its forehead. Atticus wondered if this creature was the wild boy. He stared at the creature in fascination.

"Stop staring at Yubel like that! You're being rude," Cosette hissed as she gave Atticus a small nudge.

"Ah," Atticus squeaked in surprise as his eyes shot away from Yubel and looked at anything else.

Yubel floated over and hovered to the right of the prince. Atticus noticed that Yubel seemed a bit tense, her eyes shooting around the room as if she was not comfortable being in front of so many new people.

"Dear Cosette! It is so nice to see you again," The King roared in a joyous voice, breaking the silence in the room and causing several monks, including Atticus, to jump in surprise. Prince Jaden let loose a small snicker at this, earning him a corrective nudge from Yubel.

"Hello, Your Majesty… Prince Jaden," Cosette greeted with a bow, her voice a little less friendly when saying the Prince's name. "It's nice to see you both doing so well after such a harsh winter," she said as she came out of the bow.

"It's nice to see your doing well, too," Jaden said as a playfully evil smirk crept onto his face. The last time Cosette had come, he had tried to sneak live frogs down the back of her robe. He had failed and it had earned him a week of no free time outside but it had been worth it to see Cosette's face turn beat red with anger.

"Please, please. Sit down! You all must be tired from your travel," The King said as he motioned for his guests to take a seat.

Atticus nervously sat down, worried that he might do something wrong and upset the King or the Prince. His eyes wandered the room, always shooting back for quick glances at Yubel and the Prince.

"And who might this young man be?" The King asked, motioning to Atticus.

Atticus jumped and let loses a surprised squeak once realizing that the King was referring to him. Stumbling over himself and before anyone could introduce him, Atticus stood up. "I-I My name is A-Atticus… Sir… I mean, Your Majesty," Atticus stuttered, his whole body full of nerves. Atticus could not help but notice an amused smile spread across the Prince's face.

"Oh, Atticus is it?" The King said.

"Y-Y-Yes," Atticus stuttered, wondering why he was unable to get control of his voice. He normally did not have this much trouble talking with new people.

"He is living at the Foreseeing Temple, training to be a monk…" Cosette cut in. "He is the only remainder of the village by Lake Red Eyes that was burnt down not too long ago," Cosette explained.

The room became silent for a second, everyone's mood, but the prince's, seemed to turn somber. "Oh… I see," The King said in a low voice. "Well, it's good that you were able to get away," he added. He then motioned for Atticus to take his seat again.

The somber mood in the room did not last too long as the meeting carried on. The majority of what was being done and said were out of formalities. Many of the monks would stand up and give the King their greetings and a small speech.

Atticus stopped paying attention 5 minutes into the first monk's speech. Trying not to fall asleep, his brown eyes wandered for something to entertain him. After a while his eyes fell on Prince Jaden and Yubel.

Yubel seemed to be trying her best not to look at anyone unparticular in the room. Every once in a while she would catch Atticus's eyes, causing both of them to jump and look away.

Prince Jaden spent the time slouched in his chair looking very bored. He seemed to be trying to fight off sleep that was threatening to capture him. The prince knew he would be scolded if he fell asleep during another meeting. He preoccupied himself by sneaking faces at Cosette and daydreaming about playing outside with Jesse and Yubel.

After what seemed like ages, all the monks had finished greeting the King and the Prince. "Well then, now that all the formalities are over, we should start the real meeting," The King sighed as he stood up from his throne.

"Sorry Atticus, you are not allowed to join in this part of the visit," one of the monks said, his tone not sounding too sorry.

"Oh… right," Atticus said, not quite sure what he was to do now.

"Why don't you explore the garden or something, they have nice flowers and such. Our meeting should not take too long. We should be done soon after lunch," Cosette explained; she did seem a bit sorry for leaving Atticus on his own.

"I have an idea," Prince Jaden said, springing from his throne and down to where Atticus was standing. "Why don't you join me? I can show you around," Jaden said as a bright smile spread across his face.

"I-Is that okay," Atticus stuttered, not quite sure what one does with a prince for fun.

"It's fine, right dad?" Jaden squeaked, looking to his father.

"Yes, it's a splendid idea. One can easily get lost in this castle so my son should be able to get you around," The King said as he prepared himself to leave. "Jaden, make sure you have Atticus back in this room no later than 2pm… understood," The King said sternly to his son.

"Yes father," Jaden replied, elongating the vowels as he spoke.

The King and his advisor made their way out of the room, followed by Cosette and the monks. "Good luck," Cosette whispered as she bid Atticus a goodbye.

Atticus watched them leave before turning to the Prince and Yubel. "Um… Hello," he said, not quite sure how he should speak to the prince. His eyes kept nervously glancing over to Yubel. He still was not quite sure what she was.

"So, your name is Atticus, is it?" Yubel asked, her tone quite friendly.

"Oh… um yes…" Atticus replied, still a little unsure of Yubel.

"My name is Yubel. I'm the prince's guardian," Yubel greeted.

"Oh… It's nice to meet you Yubel," Atticus said, trying his best to sound unscarred and friendly. He did not want to offend Yubel, she looked very strong.

Jaden rolled his brown eyes. Atticus's reaction to Yubel was as expected, except Atticus actually spoke to Yubel. Most people would stare at her and not say a word. "Well it's nice to meet you, too, Atticus. You can just call me Jaden," Jaden said in his normal friendly tone.

"Well Jaden, how about we go pick up Jesse from the room. He is probably getting restless by now," Yubel suggested.

Jaden and Yubel had not been able to bring Jesse to the meeting. They had decided to leave the boy in Jaden's room. Yubel was usually order by Jaden to keep Jesse company when Jaden was too busy but since this was an official meeting with the future high priestess, Yubel had to come along, leaving Jesse all alone. Yubel was not too worried about Jesse; the boy had settled down in the past year and was usually too timid to travel the castle alone.

"Right, I bet he misses me so much," Jaden sang. "Come on Atticus! You have to meet Jesse!" Jaden sang as he grabbed Atticus's wrist and dragged the boy out of the room.

Yubel followed after the boys.

"W-Who is Jesse?" Atticus asked, wondering if it was another guardian of Jaden's.

"Jesse is… Jesse is," Jaden hummed as he tried to find the right words to describe Jesse.

"He isn't the wild boy is he?" Atticus asked, the idea suddenly popping into his head, as their run turned into a fast walk.

"Oh yeah… I guess that's what people have been calling him," Jaden said, not too happy with the nickname 'wild boy' for Jesse. Jaden had worked hard the past year to help Jesse become more 'human' and didn't appreciate it when people called the teal haired boy wild. Jesse was quite sweet, in his opinion.

"Wait? Really? He IS the wild boy? Does he have sharp teeth," Atticus asked, his voice full of excited terror.

An evil smirk crept across Jaden's face. "Jaden…" Yubel warned as she looked at the prince's expression.

"Well, his teeth are sharp…" Jaden hummed as he shot a look at Atticus.

"R-Really? Does he bite? Can he speak? Has he attacked anyone?" Atticus asked in excitement, his fear of Yubel slowly fading away.

"Well, he can bite, he speaks a little and he will only attack if I tell him to! So be nice to me or I might tell my wild boy to get ya," Jaden said, trying his best to be serious so as to not blow his cover.

"Jaden! Telling people this is not helping Jesse, you know," Yubel said, her voice carrying a bit of annoyance. It was her and Jaden's duty to help Jesse become a part of society, not to scare people away from him.

"Wow! Really? That's so cool," Atticus cooed as he ignored Yubel and believed everything Jaden had said.

Just then Jaden stopped in his tracks. "Well, soon you will be able to feast your eyes on the scariest wild boy in the world," Jaden said, wiggling his fingers and waving his arms in the air as he spoke. He figured if people were going to assume Jesse was some monster, he would play along. He liked to trick people.

"Where?! Where?!" Atticus asked in excitement, looking up and down the empty hall.

"Through this door," Jaden sang in a shaky spooky voice.

"Oooooh," Atticus hummed in awe.

Yubel rolled her two toned eyes.

"Prepare yourself, for on the count of three I will open the door and set the wild boy loose," Jaden warned, his voice very stern and serious.

Atticus nodded in silence, his body filling with adrenalin.

"One… two… three!" Jaden shouted as he swung his bedroom door open.

"Jaden!? Yubel!?" squeaked a small voice from within the room.

Atticus squinted his eyes seeing nothing at first, nothing that is until a wild looking teal hair boy came running towards them. Panicking, Atticus jumped aside and curled his arms in a defensive posture before the boy could attack.

"Yubel! Jaden!" the teal haired boy repeated, his voice both terrified and happy.

Atticus watched as Jaden jumped in front of the teal haired boy. "Jesse! We are back! Did you miss us?" The Prince sang, spreading his arms wide open to catch Jesse into a hug.

Jesse ran past Jaden, causing the prince to drop his open arms, and tackled Yubel into a hug. "I was scared," Jesse said, his voice a little shaky as his small arms wrapped around Yubel's waist.

Atticus noticed a grimace spread across the prince's face as the prince turned to face Yubel and Jesse. Jesse always greeted Yubel first.

"Oh Jesse, you didn't need to worry. We said we would be back, now didn't we," Yubel cooed as she patted Jesse on the head.

"I know but… you guys was gone a long time," Jesse squeaked as his bright green eyes looked up into Yubel's two toned eyes. Yubel had to admit that Jesse's big green eyes almost always made her heart melt. "I thoughted you had gone forever," Jesse squeaked again, his hug tightening.

"I would never do that," Jaden said, catching Jesse attention.

"Jaden," Jesse sang as he let go of Yubel and sprang to Jaden. His thin little arms wrapped around Jaden's neck as he pulled the prince into a hug.

Jaden's face went from disgruntled, to satisfied in a matter of seconds as he returned Jesse's hug. "I missed you too Jesse," Jaden said, thought they had only been apart for no more than an hour.

"I thinked you was locked up by knights," Jesse squeaked, his little voice still quite shaky.

Jaden wrapped his arms around Jesse's slim waist, returning the hug. It had been the first time Jesse had been away from both Yubel and Jaden for so long.

"It's …'thought you were locked up by knights' Jesse! Not '…thinked you was locked up by knights'" Yubel corrected as she floated closer to Jesse and the prince.

"Oh, Jesse! The knights are not going to lock me up! I'm almost like their boss," Jaden said as he patted Jesse's soft teal hair, earning him a tighter hug from the teal haired boy.

"What is boss?" Jesse said as he pulled back and studied Jaden, his big green eyes full of confusion.

"Well a boss is… like the King… the one in charge!" Jaden explained, his voice going deep and majestic when saying the word 'King'.

"Jaden is King?" Jesse asked, his head tilting to the side.

Atticus watched as the scene in front of him plaid out. He had thought for sure that the wild boy would not give hugs nor sound so squeaky. He cleared his throat, wondering if his presence had been forgotten.

Yubel, Jaden and Jesse all looked to Atticus as the boy cleared his throat. "Oh right Jesse-" but before Jaden could fishing, Jesse had ripped himself from Jaden's grasp and ran behind Yubel.

"Jesse!" Yubel huffed as she tried to coax the boy out from behind herself. "Don't be rude," Yubel scolded as she tried to grab for the hiding Jesse.

Jesse was always shy when meeting new humans. The boy did not seem bothered or scared when meeting new animals but when it came to humans, Jesse would often run away and hide. Recently though, he had taken to just hiding behind Yubel instead of under furniture.

Atticus was even more surprised by the face that Jesse was scared of him. He thought for sure that he, himself, was going to be the scared one, not the wild boy. "I-I won't hurt you," Atticus said in a kind voice.

"Yeah, Jesse! He is a friend," Jaden said as he walked over to Atticus and patted the young monk on the back.

This caused Jesse to timidly peek out from behind Yubel. His green eyes were wide and frightened as he looked Atticus up and down.

"It's okay, he won't hurt you…" Yubel said as she caught Jesse around the arm and pulled him from his hiding place.

"Um, hello Jesse," Atticus said as he looked up and down the thin teal haired boy. The boy stood to be the shortest of the bunch and had the fairest skin. He wore a large light blue long sleeve shirt and baggy black pants. Atticus also noticed that the boy was not wearing any shoes.

"Say hello back," Yubel commanded softly as she made sure Jesse didn't try to hide behind her again.

Jesse timid green eyes looked to Jaden for reassurance. Jaden merely nodded and smiled as he patted Atticus's back yet again. Jesse studied Atticus's face once more, not finding anything threatening about the monk. "Hello…" Jesse finally squeaked in a small voice as he looked to the floor.

"Tell him your name," Yubel whispered into Jesse ear.

Jesse looked from the floor to Atticus, his green eyes still a little unsure.

"It's okay, you can do it," Yubel coaxed. It was always such a struggle to get Jesse to talk with others besides herself and Jaden. They often practiced introducing themselves to help Jesse when he met new people. "Just like we practiced remember…"

"I'm Jesse… Nice to meet you," Jesse softly squeaked, his big green eyes flashing from the floor to Atticus.

"My name is Atticus! It's nice to meet you, too, Jesse…" Atticus said, sticking his hand out to Jesse.

Jesse looked from Atticus's hand then to Yubel as if to say 'What now?'

"Just like we practiced remember," Jaden said, catching Jesse attention. Jaden pretended to shake an invisible man's hand.

"You can do you. He won't hurt you," Yubel cooed.

Jesse slowly lifted his small hand and gently placed it in Atticus's hand. He gave a small jump when Atticus closed his hand around his and gave it a shake. After one or two shakes, Jesse's nerve seemed to ease up as a small smile spread across his face.

"I hope we can be friends, Jesse," Atticus said as he pulled his hand from Jesse.

"Me too," Jesse said in a small shy voice. It seemed that Jesse was okay with Atticus for the time being.

"See, Jesse! Isn't making friends fun," Jaden sang as he sauntered over and slung an arm around Jesse's slim shoulder.

"Yes," Jesse giggle shyly as he leaned into Jaden's arm.

"Well, now that that is out of the way, how about I show you around the castle," Jaden suggested as he drew his attention to Atticus.

"Sure, I would like to see as much as I can before I leave," Atticus said as stars shown in his eyes. He had always enjoyed classy things and there was nothing classier than a castle.

"Then follow me!" Jaden said as he released Jesse from his one arm hug and lead the way.

Jaden showed Atticus to all of his favorite places. He took him to the fencing room, the dining chamber, a few study rooms, a large ballroom that Atticus fell in love with, and the outdoor guardian.

The four talked about various things as they walked along; though Jesse didn't say too much. Jaden mainly asked Atticus what it was like to live in a village as a commoner. Jaden had always felt that he was like a bird locked in a cage and often wished for a day of not being the prince.

Atticus also asked Jaden all sorts of questions about living in the castle. Though Atticus loved the life he had with his family and would do anything to get it back, he had often dreamed of being royalty as a small child. He had always like dressing up and looking nice, though most of the time all he had to dress up in were old worn hand-me-down clothes.

After a while, Atticus had become so comfortable with Jaden, that he had forgotten that Jaden was the prince all together. It felt like he was talking with an old friend.

"So, I get the feeling you and Cosette don't always get along so well?" Atticus asked, the question had been swimming around the back for his head all day.

The group had gathered food from the kitchen and had decided to have a picnic lunch in the back guardian. They were all seated on a stone bench next to a pond. Atticus sat next to Jaden, who sat next to Jesse, who sat next to Yubel.

"What? Cosette and I are like best friends," Jaden said in a sarcastic voice as he took a large bit from a fresh apple.

"Really? Because Cosette seems to think differently... I don't know why, you seem really fun and nice to me…" Atticus said, hoping he did not offend the prince.

"Cosette just doesn't know how to take a joke," Jaden said with a wave of his hand.

"What's Cosette?" Jesse asked as he munched on a fresh roll. Everyone's attention turned to Jesse, whom up to this point had not spoken a word since introducing himself to Atticus.

"A big scary monster that eats teal haired boys," Jaden replied as he waved his arms around in the hair like an octopus.

Jesse did not seem to understand that Jaden was trying to scare him and merely stared at Jaden blankly.

"Cosette is a priestess who sometimes visits the castle," Yubel explained softly. "She is not a monster," she then added as she shot Jaden a stern look. It was important that they did not trick Jesse too much, for the boy was still learning and could easily mistake a joke as a true fact.

"Whatever," Jaden huffed as he playfully wrinkled his nose at Yubel.

"So Cosette is princess?" Jesse asked, his big green eyes studying Yubel.

"No, she is a priestess, like the older lady you met not too long ago," Yubel pointed out.

"Oh… So she is human?" Jesse asked, his tone sounding a little shakier.

"Yes, she is human but she is very nice. She could be your friend too," Yubel replied in hopes to keep Jesse from panicking when he met the girl. Jesse seemed to panic less around women than men anyways.

"Nice? Really?" Jesse squeaked. Jesse liked meeting nice people, though he had only really met a small handful of people thus far.

"Cosette is super kind," Atticus said, causing everyone's attention to turn to him. "She saved my life and helped me find a place to live. She might seem scary at first, but she has a kind heart," Atticus explained, wondering if Jesse understood.

Jesse stared blankly at Atticus as he tried to make sense of what he just heard. "Jaden save my life… Give me a place to live… Jaden is kind heart," Jesse said as a big grin spread across his face.

The other three could not help but return Jesse sweet smile. None of them knew if Jesse really understood what Atticus had said but the boy seemed happy none the less.

The four carried on eating as they talked about various things. Before they knew it, most of the food they had brought had dwindled away.

"I have an idea!" Jaden said as a playfully evil smile spread across his face.

"Jaden!" Yubel warned, she had seen that smile far too many times and knew it meant trouble.

"Oh, what is it? Is there somewhere else you forgot to show me?" Atticus asked, wondering if there was another ball room they had yet to visit.

"No, we have to get you back to the meeting room soon…" Jaden said, his evil smile still plastered on his face.

"Oh…" Atticus said, sounding disappointed. He could not help but wonder why Jaden seemed so happy if they had to split up soon. Maybe Jaden did not enjoy Atticus's company as much as Atticus had hoped.

"I think we should head back a bit early and… prepare a surprise for Cosette…"Jaden said evilly as he looked from a confused Jesse to an even more confused Atticus.

"A… Surprise?" Atticus questioned.

"Yes…. And we are going to need strawberry jam," Jaden said as he playfully rubbed his hands together.

"Jaden…!" Yubel warned, knowing very well that this was probably going to end with Jaden being banished from the garden for another week.

"Don't worry Yubel… You don't have to help," Jaded reassured her, though she did not seem convinced.

Yubel rolled her eyes knowing that there was little she could do once Jaden made up his mind. All she could do was hope that Atticus and Jesse did not go along with whatever scheme it was Jaden was brewing.

XXX

"Jaden! I really don't think this is such a good idea," Yubel said as she watched Jaden spread strawberry jam all over Jesse's mouth.

"What!? This is going to be great! I bet she is going to freak out!" Jaden said as he tried to keep himself from laughing. It's not that he liked bring pain to Cosette, there was just something fun about making the somber girl show some emotion.

Yubel rolled her eyes yet again as she let loose a loud sigh. She had tried to stop the trio but had failed in doing so.

"Do you really think she is going to freak?" Atticus asked in excitement. Half of him wondered if Cosette even had the ability to lose her cool.

"How can she not," Jaden said as he slabbed more jam onto Jesse's face

.

"So, what is it that I have to do again?" Atticus asked, wanting to make sure he didn't mess up his part. He had never played a real prank on someone and it filled him with giddy excitement.

"Well first, you need to make sure your arm is covered well with the jam I gave you," Jaden said, looking over at Atticus who was sitting next to him.

At the moment Atticus had a decent amount of jam smeared on his right arm. "Do you think this is enough jam?" Atticus asked.

"Hmmm… maybe a bit more. We want to look like you have bled a lot" Jaden said as he slapped more jam on to poor Jesse's face.

Atticus nodded as he added more Jam to his arm. "And then what do I do?" Atticus asked as he spread jam around his arm.

"Then, once your arm is nice and red, you are going to lay here and act like you are in a lot of pain," Jaden explained as he pointed to the center of the room. "Make sure you moan and groan a lot and say 'Oh! It hurts! It hurts!'" Jaden said in an agonizing tone.

"Where do you hurt?" Jesse asked innocently, thinking Jaden actually was hurt.

"Don't worry, Jesse. Jaden is acting, he is not really hurt," Yubel cooed before Jaden could reply. "He is just being an idiot," she then added as she sent a disapproving look to her beloved prince.

Jaden returned Yubel's glare with an innocent loving smile.

Yubel rolled her two toned eyes.

"Anyways," Jaden said, bring his attention back to the two boys in the room. "While you act in pain, Jesse is going to stand over you and act scary and pretend like he is about to eat you," Jaden explained with a small growl in his voice.

Atticus looked from Jaden to Jesse as he listened to the prince's explanation. "Do you really think she is going to fall for it?" Atticus asked as he studied the teal haired boy in front of him.

Jesse's sat facing Atticus and Jaden. His soft green eyes looked around the room innocently as Jaden added more jam to his face. Jesse's mouth, chin and nose were now covered in the sticky strawberry jam. "It's sweet!" he commented as he licked some of the jam from his lips.

"No, Jesse! Don't eat the jam!" Jaden scolded as he added some more jam to the licked area on Jesse's face.

"Sorry, Jaden! But it's yummy," Jesse whimpered sweetly, his sorrowful big green eyes looked into Jaden's soft brown ones. The teal haired boy wanted nothing more than to please Jaden, but it was always so hard to do things right.

Even if he wanted to, Jaden could not find it in his heart to scold Jesse more. He knew how sensitive the wild boy could be. "Don't worry Jesse, I promise when this is over you can lick all the jam off your face," Jaden said with an encouraging smile.

Jesse returned Jaden's smile with a small one of his own.

Atticus couldn't help but feel that Jesse didn't have the ability to be scary, even if he wanted to.

"Now Jesse, you remember what it is you have to do… right," Jaden said slowly.

"Yes!" Jesse said with a proud smile. "No lick the jam," he stated in a joyful tone.

"No…Well, yes… don't eating the jam… but do you remember what you need to do when people come through that door?" Jaden asked, pointing to the door that Cosette was due to enter through any minute.

Jesse turned his head to the side, signaling that he had forgotten.

Jaden rolled his eyes but tried not to seem too annoyed. "You need to stand over Atticus and act like you are eating him… okay?"

Jesse looked from Atticus, who was still applying jam to his arm, then back to Jaden. "But eating human is bad," Jesse said, remembering well that he was told not to bite people.

"You're not really going to eat him, Jesse. You are just going to pretend. Stand over him and act scary… You know growl and show your teeth," Jaden explained as he made a snarling face and bared his teeth.

Jesse tilted his head to the side as he studied Jaden. He still didn't quite understand why Jaden wanted him to do this but either way, he wanted to make Jaden happy.

"Here, why don't you try, Jesse," Jaden said, gesturing to the teal haired boy. "Curl your hands like this," Jaden said as he lifted his own hands to his face and curled them like claws. "Then show your teeth and snarled like this… Aaaarrrrrg," Jaden growled as his nose scrunched up and he showed his teeth.

Jesse studied Jaden for a moment before lifting his own hands to his face and copying Jadens pose. "Giiirrr," Jesse squeaked like a mouse, neglecting to bear his teach as he did so.

"Awwww, he's so cute," Atticus commented as he mentally compared Jesse to a kitten.

"Jesse, no! Not like that," Jaden said as he slapped a hand to his face. "You're not supposed to be cute," he huffed.

"But I did like you," Jesse said as he tilted his head to the side, his hands still raised to his head.

"Listen, Jesse, first you need to bare your teeth," Jaden said as he used his fingers to lift Jesse's jam covered lips. "Then you need to scrunch up your nose like this," Jaden emplaned as he used his now jam covered fingers to scrunch up Jesse's nose. "And furrow your eyebrows like this… and try not to make your eyes to big and watery," Jaden said as he used his sticky index finger to set Jesse's brow into a scowl. Jaden then stepped back to study his work.

Jesse sat with his small hands curled like claws beside his face. His white teeth showed through his jam covered lips his small nose was scrunched up making it looked like he had just smelt something bad. Despite his eyebrows being set in a scowl, his green eyes still showed nothing but vulnerability and innocence.

"Did I do good?" Jesse mumbled through his teeth as he held the pose.

Jaden definitely felt like it could use work but decided that it was good enough for now. He knew Cosette would come soon and they didn't have much time. "You look pretty good, Jesse!" Jaden said, earning him a happy squeal from the small boy.

Atticus looked up from his jam covered arm to Jesse. "Well, he doesn't look like a kitten anymore," Atticus commented as he went back to spreading jam on his arm. In his opinion, Jesse now looked more like a lion cub, which in his opinion was a little bit fiercer than a kitten.

"Why don't you try giving us a growl, Jesse," Jaden said, ignoring Atticus's comment.

"Girrr," Jesse squeaked, once again sounding very much like a mouse.

"No, no, no! It needs to be deeper," Jaden said. "Like this… 'GAAAAHHHRRR'" Jaden roared as he tried his best to act vicious, casing Jesse to jump a bit. "Now you try," Jaden said, his posture returning to normal.

"Gaaarrrr," Jesse growled, this time he sounded more like an upset kitten.

"Close, but a little bit deeper, Jesse," Jaden said. "Growl from deep within your throat… here," Jaden explained as he pointed to Jesse's throat.

"Gaaaarrrg," Jesse growled, sounding almost the same as last time. "Was I good?" Jesse asked sweetly as he dropped his hands.

"Listen Jess, pretend you are a dragon when you growl," Jaden said, hoping that this could help Jesse understand what a real growl was meant to be like. "Yes, pretend you are a dragon!"

Jesse's big green widened with joy at the sound of his favorite animal. "Okay, Jaden. I do again," Jesse squeaked happily. Jesse then lifted his hands to his face and took in a deep breath. "GRAAAAARRRRR," Jesse bellowed, sounding very much like a lion cub.

"If only he had a tail," Atticus mumbled to himself as he finished up applying the jam.

"Good job Jesse! It could use some work but I think it will do for now," Jaden said as he gave Jesse a proud pat on the back.

Jesse beamed as he basked in Jaden's praise. There was nothing Jesse liked more than to please Jaden.

Yubel had watched the whole sheared from the corner of the room. Back in the old day she used to go along with Jaden's pranks but always opted out of the pranks that revolved around Cosette. Cosette was one of the few people she knew who did not look at her strange. She also viewed Cosette as a friend.

Normally Yubel would let Jaden do as he pleased when it came to pranking Cosette. She felt it was none of her business and the feud between the two had nothing to do with her. But this particular prank was different. This particular prank involved Jesse, who they had spent the past year trying to civilize.

"Jaden, I really don't think this prank is a good idea," Yubel huffed as she came from the corner of the room and floated over to the three boys.

"What? Why not!? All we are going to do is spooking Cosette," Jaden said, not really taking any mind to Yubel.

"Jaden, making Jesse into a monster is not helping him in any way," Yubel said as she studied the jam covered Jesse.

Jesse looked up to Yubel and smiled sweetly. It was obvious that the boy had no clue what was going on.

"You know this is only going to encourage people to carry on calling Jesse a wild boy," Yubel huffed.

"Oh, you're being dramatic, Yubel!" Jaden squeaked. "Besides, if Cosette thinks Jesse is a monster, then why not give her what she wants," Jaden said a bit annoyed. He assumed that most of Atticus's ideas of Jesse being wild had come from Cosette; though that was not true.

"Okay, Jaden! I'm all ready and they should be here soon," Atticus said as he scooted closer to Jesse and Jaden.

Jaden gave a nod as he turned to Jesse. "Okay Jesse, when I do this," Jaden said giving his fingers a snap, "I want you to start growling and being like a dragon… okay?" Jaden explained in a serious voice.

"Okay, Jaden," Jesse squeaked as he took note of what he had just learned moments ago about being scary.

"I am going to hide over there," Jaden said as he pointed behind the bookshelf. "Now get into position," he said sharply as he scooted Jesse closer to Atticus, who was already lying on the floor.

"This is going to be so funny," Atticus said stupidly as he tried to hold back a giggle.

"I know," Jaden replied with a dumb grin.

Jesse sat over Atticus with a large smile on his face. He had no clue why everyone was so happy but he was not going to be left out.

Yubel rolled her two toned eye and sighed.

"Ah! I think I hear someone coming!" Jaden whispered as voiced came closer and closer to the door. "Yubel! You hide with me behind the book case," he commanded as he turned and made his way to the bookshelf.

"Jaden!" Yubel said in a loud voice. "I don't want to-" but before she could finish, she felt herself being tugged behind the shelf by the young prince.

"Now be quiet or they might hear us," Jaden snapped as he did his best to hide himself.

Yubel rolled her eyes yet again and made no effort to hide.

Just then the knob on the door began to jiggle. Without saying a word Jaden snapped his fingers to signal to Jesse.

Almost immediately Jesse began to growl like a little lion. "Giiiiiirrr! Garrrrr! Raaaawwwwrrr!" Jesse growled as he lifted his clawed hands to his face, his small voice cracking every now and then.

"Ohhhh, Why!? Why!? It hurts! It hurts!" Atticus moaned a little bit too dramatically.

Just then the door swung open to reveal a stunned and horrified monk. "Oh my! What is that thing?" the monk gasped as his eyes lay on the growling Jesse. "Oooooh!" he uttered as he saw the jam covered Atticus moaning on the floor. The monk looked like he was about to faint.

"Help meeee!" Atticus said as he reached a shaking hand out to the monk.

"Garrrrr!" Jesse growled.

"What is going!?" came Cosette annoyed voice from behind the monk.

"A-A-Mu-Ba- Blood!," The monk stuttered as he pointed a shaking finger at Jesse and Atticus. The monk then seemed to lose a ability to stand and clasped to the floor.

Cosette annoyingly pushed the stunned monk aside and was met by the sight that caused the monk to freak out. Her stern blue eyes widened as she took in the jam covered Jesse hovering over the sticky moaning Atticus.

"Cosette… Help me!" Atticus wheezed as he reached an arm out to the girl.

"Giiiiirrr! Raaaaaaaar!" Jesse bellowed as fiercely as he could. He then looked up from Atticus and made eye contact with Cosette.

In a matter of seconds Cosette's eyes went from slight shock to unamused as she stared at the small teal haired boy. "What are you looking at!?" she spat.

Every last ounce of fierceness in Jesse seemed to drain out him as he went from tough to terrified. As Cosette stern blue eyes board into his soft green eyes, Jesse lost the ability to move out of fear.

"Well…?" Cosette sternly said as she entered the room, her blue eyes still fixed on Jesse.

"Eeep!" Jesse squeaked as movement came back to his body and he bolted from his stop, taking refuge under a chair.

Cosettes stern eyes followed Jesse as the boy hid under a small chair. Her attention then turned to Atticus. "And you!?" She said turning on the brown haired monk.

"Cosette! He ate me," he muttered, still trying to keep the act up.

"Get off the floor!" Cosette commanded in a not too amused voice.

Atticus sat limp on the floor for a second, not quite sure what he should do.

"And you, Jaden… You can come out from behind the bookshelf," Cosette said in a dry voice.

A pouting Jaden, along with a satisfied Yubel, revealed themselves from behind the bookshelf. Jaden had thought for sure that this would have worked.

"How did you know," Jaden whined in a squeaky voice.

"The next time you want people to believe jam is blood, make sure you hide the jam jar better," Cosette said in a dry voice, pointing to an open jar of jam that was sitting next to Atticus.

"Humph," Jaden said, as his pout grew even more. He took note to make sure the hide all the evidence next time.

Cosette looked to the prince with a somewhat victorious grin on her face.

"Oh Jesse, come out from under their! You don't need to be sacred," Yubel cooed as she tried to coax the frightened Jesse out from under a chair.

"No! No No! Scary! Scary! Scary!" Jesse balled as he hid his jam covered face in his now jam covered hands.

"See, look at what this prank did," Yubel said as she looked to Jaden.

"I thought it was fun," Atticus said as he sat up, earning him a scowl from both Cosette and Yubel.

Jaden could not help but feel a little bad for the frightened Jesse. Maybe Yubel was right. She was always right.

"Come on Jesse. It's okay," Jaden said as he crouched down next to the chair and patted Jesse on the back.

Jesse merely shook and whimpered, unable to forget the cold blue stare that brought such fear.

"I take it he is the 'wild boy' Atticus was so excited to meet?" Cosette questioned as she studied the frightened Jesse.

"Yeah! Isn't he cute! Not scary at all," Atticus said as he got up off the floor, his right arm still doused in sticky jam.

"Yeah… cute…" Cosette said, feeling a bit bad for frightening the boy.

"Jesse! Cosette is not going to hurt you," Jaden said yet again as he gave a small tug on the boys hips in an attempt to pull him out from under the chair. The only earned Jaden a small squeak from Jesse.

"Oh bother," Yubel huffed in a low voice. She then let loose a sigh as she lifted the small chair that covered Jesse.

Jesse sat curled in a ball on the floor with his face still buried in his hands. He did not seem to notice the absence of the chair.

"Get up, get up," Jaden chanted as he looped his arms round Jesse chest and pulled the boy up.

Jesse struggle a bit as he was pulled up off the ground. Once realizing it was Jaden who was pulling him up he turned towards the prince and hid his sticky face in the prince's neck.

"Sorry Jesse. I didn't realize she would scare you like this," Jaden said as he patted Jesse gently on the back.

"Yeah Jesse, she seems scary at first but Cosette is really nice," Atticus said as he strolled over to the prince and the scared boy.

"Besides, I took an oath not to hurt any living creature. So even if I did want to harm you, I couldn't," Cosette said dryly, though her bored eyes did hold a hint of concern for the teal haired boy.

Jesse lifted his sticky face from Jaden's now sticky neck and looked around the room. He was met by a smiling Yubel and Atticus. His timid green eyes looked around the room. Over by the door he noticed the monk from before half passed out on the floor. He then looked from the monk to Cosette. The girl had a very bored look on her cool face but the sternness from before was gone. Still unsure of the girl, Jesse just studied her over Jaden's shoulder.

"Say hello, Jesse," Yubel coaxed as she laid an encouraging hand on Jesse's back.

"Yeah! She is super fun," Atticus added as he slung an arm around Cosette's shoulder.

Cosettes blue eyes went from bored to annoyed as she looked over at Atticus.

"Yeah, Cosette looks super scary and mean but she wouldn't hurt a fly," Jaden said as he tried to pry Jesse off of himself. He half regretted dragging Jesse into the prank.

Jesse struggled a bit but was eventually pulled away from Jaden. Still facing Cosette, Jesse now stood with his back pressed against Jaden's chest.

"It would make me happy if you said 'hi' to her," Jaden said into Jesse ear, knowing Jesse would do almost anything he asked him to.

Jesse's body stiffened at the idea of talking to the strict priestess but the prospect of making Jaden happy was very enticing. After a few second of not saying anything Jesse looked to Cosette. "Hi," he squeaked quietly.

Cosette could not help but find the boy's shy behavior cute, though her face did not show it. "Hello…" Cosette replied dryly.

"Tell her your name," Jaden said as he gave Jesse's back a small push. It was always like this when introducing Jesse to new people.

"I'm Jesse," Jesse said, his voice still very timid.

"My name is Cosette," Cosette replied.

"And what do you say next," Yubel said calmly.

"Nice to meet you," Jesse said as Jaden coaxed Jesse to put his hand out to shake Cosettes.

"It nice to finally meet you too, Jesse," Cosette said as she took Jesse's sticky hand. "And sorry for scaring you," she added dryly as she shook the boys hand.

Jesse gave a small timid smile as he shook her hand. He was still unsure of the girl.

"Good job, Jesse," Yubel whispered as she gave Jesse's shoulder a small pat.

Jesse smile grew a bit as he let go of Cosette's hand. He seemed a bit more confident.

Letting go of Jesse's sticky hand, Cosette looked to Atticus. "Well, we were going to leave for the Knight's Academy but now it looks like we need to wash up… which means we are going to be behind schedule" Cosette huffed as she looked at the sticky young monk in front of her.

"Oh, yeah… I guess you're right," Atticus said sheepishly as he looked at his jam covered arm. It never occurred to him that he would have to wash the jam off after.

"It's okay! You can use our baths!" Jaden said, excited at the idea of taking a bath with a new friend. At the moment, all the residence in the room, except Yubel, had jam on some part of their bodies.

"Well, what is done is done," Cosette huffed. "We just need to be quick about it," she added.

Cosette then turned to the monk at the doorway who seemed to have regained himself. "Hey! Tell the others we are going to be a little late," She commanded.

"Y-Yes mi-lady," the monk said, still a little dazed at what just happened.

The five watched the monk leave in silence. "Well then," Cosette said as she turned to the sticky boys. "Let's get washed up! I want you out of the bath and back here in no more than an hour… and this time I don't want you to be covered in food," Cosette said her voice stern.

"Um… Right… Sorry," Atticus said as he scratched the back of his head with his sticky hand. He felt a bit bad for making them fall behind on their schedule.

"You can take a bath with us!" Jaden said as he pulled Atticus and Jesse out the door and towards the bathing hall.

Both Cosette and Yubel rolled their eyes as they watched the three boys exit the room.

"I did try to stop them," Yubel said.

"I know," Cosette replied.

With that the two made their way to the woman's bathing room.

XXX

After washing up, the group, as well as the rest of the monks monks, met back up in the meeting room, all fresh and clean.

"Well, we really should be on our way milady," a monk said as everyone began to gather their belongings.

"It was really nice to meet you, Atticus," Jaden said as he watched his new friend ready himself to leave.

"Yeah, I had a good time, too! Maybe I can come and see you in the summer," Atticus said as he checked his bag to make sure the package from Marie was still there.

"You can only come next time if you promise not to cover yourself in jam," Cosette dryly said.

"Well I do hope you all have a safe trip," Yubel piped in.

"Thank you Yubel. You take care, too. From the looks of it, these two are probably a handful," Cosette said as her blue eye studied Jesse and Jaden.

"Oh, they are not normally this wild," Yubel admitted, though the two could be quite a handful none the less.

"Say goodbye, Jesse," Jaden said as he gave Jesse a small poke in the rib.

Jesse had been spacing out a bit, and was not too sure of what was going on. "Do we going away now?" he asked.

"No, we stay here, but our new friends, Cosette and Atticus, will go away now," Yubel explained.

"Oh…" Jesse said, his voice a little disappointment. He had come to like Atticus. "They come tomorrow?" Jesse asked, his big green eyes full of hope.

"No, but they will come again soon, so we need to say good bye for now," Yubel explained.

Jesse turned his head to the side as he looked at Yubel. He then turned his gaze to Atticus. "You are fun," Jesse said with a sweet smile.

"Your pretty fun too, Jesse. I promise to come again soon," Atticus replied.

Jesse nodded. It was hard to tell if the teal haired boy understood what soon meant but he seemed to be okay with it. "See you," Jesse said with a small wave.

"Yes, see you soon, Jesse," Atticus said. "See you later Jaden," he then said turning his attention to the prince.

"Yeah! Next time our prank won't backfire!" Jaden said with a small fist pump.

"Jaden!" Cosette and Yubel said in unison.

"Sheesh! It was just a joke…" Jaden stuttered. "Sort of," He then added in a low voice.

Yubel, Jaden, and Atticus broke into laughter as Cosette tried to fight a smirk and Jesse stood amongst the group confused but smiling none the less.

The group bid their final goodbyes as the monks and Cosette took their leave.

XXX

It was now late afternoon as they exited the castle grounds and entered back into the city.

"We should be arriving at the Knight's Academy in less than an hour," Cosette said as they walked down the street.

"I'm so excited to see the academy," Atticus said as a huge smile spread across his face. Due to the excitement of the morning, he had almost forgotten about meeting Marie's son. 'I wonder if he is going to be as exciting as the prince,' Atticus wondered as they walked down the road towards the academy.

(So here you are! Chapter 5 is over. I feel like this took forever to write! So, did you enjoy it? I promise Jesse will man up in the next few chapters and Jaden will mellow out as well (maybe).

The next chapter will have Zane in it. That's a guarantee! I wonder if Zane and Atticus will get along? Is Atticus right in thinking Zane is going to be as fun as little Prince Jaden? You will just have to read to find out!

The next chapter will probably be out in about two weeks or less (I hope).

I want to thank you all for the nice reviews. I love to read what you all have to say! It brings a smile to my face when I check my email and find that someone had left another review. Please keep them coming!

I want to thank Judaisbutt for beta reading this for me.

I will see you all next time! Take care!))


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